MY3 ~ Marauders, Inc.
by Noelle1
Summary: The Marauders have decided that it's time to expand, and to form their never-ending legacy. Year 3 is going to be filled with pranks, new characters, perhaps an actual plot (gasp!), hair-brained schemes, the first ever FEMALE Marauder, a face-off with a
1. The Beginning of the Summer From Heck

A/N: This chapter actually starts off a week into summer vacation, and only covers the first month of it. Lots of stuff happens, so be prepared. Without further ado, here is the first chapter of 'MY3 ~ Marauders, Inc.'

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Official Disclaimer: I do not own the characters that you recognize, the spells you recognize, and places you recognize; including but not limited to the following - Sirius Black, James Potter, Lily Evans, Arabella Figg (I own her personality though!) Remus Lupin, Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy, and Albus Dumbledore. Hogwarts, the Sorting Hat, Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and various spells. I do own what you do not recognize. So, don't take them without permission! I am not associated with any owners of Harry Potter (including the amazing J.K. Rowling) and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

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MY3 ~ Marauders, Inc.

By: Noelle

Chapter 1: The Beginning of the Summer from Heck

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It was a warm summer night in Surrey. Michael Barnette-Potter lay asleep in his bed, his window open. The curtains fluttered in the breeze.

Michael was enjoying the sleep of summer. Going to bed late, waking up later… it was the good life.

Rolling over to his other side, Michael's eyes opened slightly…

"OH MY GOD -- "

"Ric. Godric, Michael. You are not to use the good Lord's name in vain…" Godric Gryffindor said, floating beside him, as if on an invisible bed.

"What are you doing?" Michael asked, his blue eyes squinting. "I was trying to sleep!"

"So was I. And you interrupted me," Godric claimed.

Michael looked at his ancestor in disbelief. "What? _I_ interrupted _you_? How about _you_ interrupted _me_?"

"No, the first was quite right…" Godric said, grinning.

"Godric," Michael said, his eyes squinting. "I'm warning you…"

"Oh! That's why I'm here! I'm supposed to give you a warning!" Godric exclaimed. Michael looked at him interestedly. "Now, what was it?"

Michael stared at his Godric, before sitting up, taking his pillow in his hands. He then proceeded to hit himself with it, while Godric tried to remember. After awhile, however, the pillow didn't work anymore. "Godric," Michael moaned. "Can't you use those 'Other Worldly' powers of yours? Also, it is sort of creepy to see you, who happens to be pretty solid, floating like a ghost. Do you think you could come down? And what are you?"

Godric looked at Michael, choosing to ignore his second and third questions for the time being. "Of course, my boy. But what's the fun in that?"

"AURGH!!!"

"Oh fine," Godric pouted, conjuring up a parchment with his 'Other Worldly' powers, as he floated gently to the ground. He sat at Michael's desk, kicking his feet upon it and leaning the chair back as far as it could go. Godric looked over the parchment, scrutinizing its contents. He then crumpled it up, and it burst into flames. "Michael, my boy, you are in grave danger…"

"So what else is new? I'm a Marauder!" Michael said proudly. "Danger is my middle name!"

"But," Godric said solemnly, "this is serious. Ever since Voldemort returned from America, he has been setting up terrible plans and schemes. He seems to believe that no one takes him seriously. And he wants to prove them wrong. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

Michael wrinkled his forehead. "Not really. What does any of this have to do with me?"

"Everything," Godric said softly. "You see, he has come up with one major… thing… so that people would take him seriously. He plans to eliminate the whole Gryffindor line. He knows that you're a part of it somehow. He does not know that you are one of my official heirs, but he knows your something. He has ordered your assassination, Michael."

"Why? Why is he doing this?" Michael questioned in shock, suddenly very awake.

"He, as you know, is of the Slytherin lineage. He wants to avenge his ancestor. I suppose this is all my fault…"

"Whatever happened between you and him then?"

"I'm not sure this is the time…" Godric said.

"Don't you think," Michael began angrily, "that I DESERVE to know since my life is in danger because of this?"

Godric exhaled deeply. "Very well. I will not divulge all of the little details." He closed his eyes, as if recalling a memory. "You know, Salazar and myself were cousins. As children, we were the best of friends. But then, the insurrections and 'witch hunts' began. The muggles did not like magic. They did not understand it. Salazar's family was greatly opposed to muggles, because many of their kin were killed. My family was more understanding toward them. We've seen both muggles and wizards do terrible things to each other. So we started to fall out, I suppose. By then, Rowena Ravenclaw had come to me, with her idea to create a Wizarding School. Rowena and I had a sort of relationship, but it wasn't anything serious at the time. She wanted to bring in her friend, Helga Hufflepuff. She felt, though, that we needed another person. So I suggested Salazar. I thought that this could end our problems, and bring us closer. He agreed, reluctantly, to it. But then, the issue of allowing muggle-born children came up. Helga and I believed that muggle-borns had just as much of a right as pure-blooded wizards to study magic. Salazar believed we should ban them. Rowena just thought we should put some restrictions, to be safe. In the end, Rowena won. Salazar was furious, but remained at Hogwarts for a few years. That is, until his mother and father were killed by muggles. He immediately came to us, and demanded the muggle-born children not return that year. We refused, and he left. That was pretty much the beginning of his downfall. The rest of the story is too gruesome for you to know right now."

"You know," Michael said agitatedly, "I'm not a little kid anymore. I'm going to be thirteen in November!"

"And that, my boy, is at least five years too young. You will know when you're eighteen, or possibly later."

Michael pouted. "So, Voldemort wants to kill me… what else is new? He tried to kill me in First Year. So I don't see the point in -- "

"But," Godric interrupted, "he didn't hire a world-wide assassination ring to come and kill you, did he? He figured that it would be too much trouble to do it himself. He has to make other plans. So, he contacted a few of his 'old friends' who happen to belong to _L'Ordine di Morte._ You see, around, well, a long time ago, a group of Italian wizards were a part of the muggle Italian Mafia. They branched off from it to form _L'Ordine di Morte_ (The Order of Death). For as long as I can remember, they performed assassination after assassination. Mostly on political workers, but they would assassinate whoever they were asked to. So, Voldemort, knowing they were the best, ordered an assassination on you."

"Aren't they just in Italy, then?" Michael asked.

"No. They started in Italy, but have expanded all over the world. They even have hit men here. That is why I believe you should get out of the country this summer. Go somewhere else, where they aren't so well developed." Godric comfortingly put his hand on Michael's shoulder. "Just hide out until you go back to Hogwarts."

"But what about James, and Jules? Aren't they in danger also?"

"Not as much as you. Voldemort would like them to be not breathing, if you will, but he does not know if they are of my lineage. And his top priority is killing off my descendants. Luckily, their connections to me are fairly well hidden with all of the muggle marriages. It should be a few years before he discovers that."

Michael nodded, deep in his thoughts. "Where should I go? Where are they less developed? You know, I had plans for this summer. Now, I might have to throw them all out."

"Well, Michael, it's better than you dying!" Godric boomed. "Now, I asked around (Hey, I can become pretty darn solid) and I have found that it is not safe for you at all here in England. Now, you have three choices. You can either go to Spain, America, or Australia. Now, I want you to think and brood over this decision and let me know by tomorrow. We can then figure out the travel plans. Like, I don't want you to be all alone. But I don't think it would be wise for Edward or Elisabeth to come with you. I suggest that you select a friend or two to take."

Michael's eyes widened, and he had a hard time hiding his grin. This was the perfect excuse to help out Bella.

"Godric," Michael said, as he faked a yawn. "I am rather tired. Do you think we could finish this tomorrow."

Godric, at once, softened. "Of course, my boy," he said softly. "You sleep tight. We will discuss this in the morning with Edward and Elisabeth."

"Good night, Godric," Michael aid, as he laid his head on his pillow. Godric affectionately ruffled his permanently slightly messy hair, and disappeared in a flash of light.

As soon as he was gone, Michael jumped out of bed, and grabbed a piece of parchment out of his desk. He jotted down the following message:

__

Bella

I found a way. Other information will be sent tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Michael

Michael searched for his owl to send the message. However, he remembered that Trouble was already out, sending Remus (who was vacationing in Germany) a letter. Michael grabbed his wand, and ran out into the hall, and down to James' room. 

He quietly opened the door, taking care to make it not creek. He cast a Silencing Charm on James' owl, so it wouldn't make a racket. He then quietly took Brownie (the incredible Green owl) out of the cage. Michael quietly crept back to his room, after shutting James' door. He then sent off Brownie with Bella's letter.

Finally, Michael settled down to sleep, with dreams of black cloaks and green lights flashing in his mind. 

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Arabella Figg awoke the next morning, in a not so great mood. She had not yet heard any word from Michael, and she was beginning to become quite impatient. School had already been out for a week and a half!

"Mum!" she called out, as she trudged down the stairs.

"Yes, Bella?"

"Did any post come yet? I'm awaiting a very important letter!"

"Well, honey," Aurelia Figg said, as her daughter came into the kitchen, "so am I. Melinda was supposed to send your father a letter each week, to let him know that she was still alive. We haven't gotten anything yet. However, we had one visitor last night." Aurelia pointed to the green owl sitting on the table.

"Brownie? Why would James be sending me a letter?"

"Brownie?" her mother coughed. "Why is Brownie green?"

"Brownie is James Potter's owl," Bella answered.

"Oh," her mother said knowingly. "Well, Brownie arrived at around dawn, demanding an owl treat."

Bella grabbed the letter curiously off of its foot. She read the letter, and grinned. Michael Barnette (or was it Potter, she wondered) had found a way. Finally. "Mum?" Bella said sweetly.

Aurelia Figg gave her daughter a strict look. "What do you want now?" she asked monotonously.

Bella grinned a little too sweetly, making her mother's eyes narrow more, if possible. Bella immediately dropped her grin, and her face fell. "You see… I miss Aunt Melinda."

Aurelia's face softened. "So do I. And so does your father. He is taking it especially hard. I mean, his baby sister is on the run."

"Do you think I could look at the letters she sent?"

Scrutinizing her daughter, Aurelia consented to this. She gave Bella a shoebox. "Thanks Mum!" she screamed, as she ran up stairs.

When she got to her room, Bella emptied the shoebox onto the floor. She then spread all the letters out. "All right… let's see. There has to be some kind of pattern."

Bella took all the letters and organized them by date, from May 30 to August 10. There were seven letters all together. She then grabbed a parchment from her desk, and jotted down the following information:

__

May 30 -- Franklin, Massachusetts

June 4 -- Beaverton, Oregon

June 9 -- Elmira, New York

June 15 -- Nacogdoches, Texas

June 23 -- Tombstone, Arizona

June 30 -- Ocean City, New Jersey

August 3 -- Nome, Alaska

'Oh', Bella thought, as she examined her writings, 'this is hopeless'.

"Bella!" she heard her mother call from downstairs.

Bella ran downstairs, screaming 'I'm coming!'. She met her mother in the parlor. "Bella, darling, your presence is requested at the Potters."

"Oh, that's right. Do we have any Floo?"

"Well, there's enough to get you there. You'll have to borrow theirs when you return. And I would like you back by five o'clock, at the latest."

"Yes Mother," Bella said, running back upstairs to grab a bag. She threw in some parchments and her writings of Melinda's locations. She also threw in the letters themselves. Running back downstairs, Bella kissed her mother goodbye.

Bella walked over to the fireplace, which was already going. She grabbed a pinch of Floo powder, and threw it into the fire. "The Nut House!" she shouted, as she stepped in.

Bella tumbled out of the fireplace, into the third floor study. She was covered in ash and soot. "Michael, your friend is here!" Elisabeth Potter called out, as she hid a smile at Bella covered in soot. "Oh, dear," she said to Bella, "it's so much easier with magic." Elisabeth waved her wand, and the ash disappeared.

"Thanks," Bella said gratefully, as Michael, James, and Jules ran into the study. "Hullo Bella!" Michael greeted her amiably.

"Hullo."

"Father's going to be here in a minute, with some 'Mystery Guests'," Jules told her. "I think Professor Dumbledore is one of them, but there's four."

Bella nodded, and gave Michael a meaningful look, and jerked her head toward her bag. 'Information,' she mouthed to him. Michael nodded.

At that moment, Edward Potter walked into the study, followed by four men. True to Jules' word, Albus Dumbledore was one of them. He gave Michael and Bella encouraging looks. Bella didn't recognize the other men.

Edward walked over to Bella. "You must be Miss Arabella Figg," he said. "I have heard many interesting things about you. I'm sorry about your aunt."

"So am I," she answered honestly. "And Bella, if you will."

"But of course," Edward answered, with a smile. "It's beyond me on how Michael and James can have such a well-mannered friend."

"Hey!" both boys protested. Everyone in the room laughed.

"We are just awaiting a few more people before we can begin. And here they are!" Elisabeth said, as four more men walked into the room.

"Now, allow me to introduce everyone. I'm sure that you all know Albus Dumbledore. Now, this is my… uh… cousin Godric," he said, acknowledging the man next to him. Bella swore she had seen him before. "And this is Thaddeus Bluffton. He works in the Magical Law Enforcement. This is Bob Smith, the Minister of Magic…" Bella looked at Toria's uncle in interest. He was tall, and looked remarkably like he was related to Toria. They shared the same brown eyes, and brown hair. "This is Orion Black, Department of Mysteries…"

"Hey Mr. B!" Jules said, waving to him enthusiastically. Orion tried to look serious, but waved back when the others weren't looking.

"Artemis van Brunswick is to my right. He too works in Magical Law Enforcement. David Pierce is to my left. He works in the Department of Mysteries. And this is Eleanor Canterbury," he said, turning to the lone woman of his guests. "We are here today to discuss my son's situation. So… I'm sure you each know a little of his situation. But there is now more." He paused, not knowing how to say what he wished to. Godric comfortingly put his hand on Edward's shoulder. At once, Edward relaxed. "Voldemort has decided to do something so that everyone will take him seriously. He has decided to eliminate the whole Gryffindor line."

"Good for nothing arse," Godric muttered.

"So we have to take steps to protect Michael."

Bob Smith cleared his throat. "I do not understand why we must do that. Hasn't Voldemort tried to kill him before? And hasn't he not succeeded?"

"Well, it is not just Voldemort now," Orion Black said, stepping up. "He has involved L'Ordin di Morte."

Many of the occupants of the room gasped. Bella looked at Michael curiously. He seemed to not care about any of this.

"Well, it's all over now that they are involved," said Artemis van Brunswick. Edward and Godric both looked at him sharply.

"It," Edward said, "is far from over. I am sending Michael into hiding until he returns to Hogwarts. But I figured that I should let you know that England is going to be filled with assassins soon enough, and everyone should be prepared."

"However, many of you know me too well," Edward said, smiling. "You know that I adapted a 'Live and Learn' parenting style. My problem is the 'Live' part. I know that Michael will need some companions to go with him, if we expect him to return. So, that is why you are here. We need to decide his companions, and basic strategy. Also, while he is gone, we must get rid of L'Ordine di Morte."

"You want us to get rid of one of the greatest and most powerful crime rings in the world before September?" Orion boomed. Everyone stared at him incredulously. "Just making sure I heard right," he added sheepishly.

"So, why don't we have a seat and decide his companions. Michael has already requested that Miss Arabella Figg join him. I figured that we should send six people, including Michael. Four more to go."

"I'm going," James Potter said confidently.

"I don't think that's wise," Eleanor Canterbury interrupted. "Edward, you are already sending one of your sons into danger. It's a shame to risk both."

"Look lady," James said haughtily. Eleanor gasped at being referred to as 'Lady'. "I am going, and I will protect my baby brother, no matter what."

"James," Edward broke in gently, "I agree with Eleanor."

"Father, I don't care if you send me to Australia in a potato sack. I don't care if you lock me up in Azkaban. I will find a way to get to Michael. So you may as well give me your permission, seeing that I'll be with him either way."

Edward sighed heavily. "I guess I don't really have a choice. That leaves three positions left. What do you think, Albus?"

Professor Dumbledore bit on the end of a Sugar Quill thoughtfully, a pad of parchment in front of him. "I believe that Thomas Brooks would be an asset. He is fairly strong in defensive maneuvers."

"What about Remus Lupin?" Artemis van Brunswick questioned. "Looking at his scores, he seems to be the strongest in Defense."

"Incapacitated (A/N: Due to the upcoming full moon, by the way)," Albus Dumbledore said shortly. "I also believe that Sirius Black and Charlotte Hunter would be of assistance. They are quick on their feet, and think quickly in emergency situations."

David Pierce let out a low whistle. "Charlotte Hunter? Albus, don't you think that's a bit of a risk, considering her _status_?"

Professor Dumbledore turned sharply to face him. "I do not consider it any more of a risk that sending any of these other students off."

"If you say so, Sir," Pierce said, leaning back.

Edward Potter turned to Eleanor. "I would like you to contact Thomas Brooks and Charlotte Hunter. Tell them to arrive at Potter Manor tomorrow. Also, contact Aurelia Figg and inform her that her daughter will be staying here for the night, and will be leaving tomorrow."

"Will they be asked to bring supplies?" she asked.

Considering this, Edward sighed. "No. I'll supply them with the necessities. Tell them to arrive no later than 6:00. I have a feeling that L'Ordine di Morte is already on their way, and it will be safer to get to their destination earlier. They will be travelling as muggles, so tell them to dress appropriately."

"Yes Sir," Eleanor said, before exiting the room. 

"Now I would like anyone under the age of 14 to exit the room," he said. 

"Aww… that's not fair!" James and Michael protested at the same time. Bella just crossed her arms.

"Official Ministry business," he said. "No up to bed. Why don't you show Miss Figg to a guest room."

Grudgingly, James and Michael exited the room, Bella in tow. Bella looked around in amazement at Potter Manor. James led them up two flights of stairs to the fifth floor. "Here is your room," he said sulkily, opening a door. "Good night."

"Good night James. Good night Michael," Bella bid them adieu, happily taking in her new surroundings. The room was magnificent, dressed in creme and blue. Wizard pictures adorned the walls, all the people sleeping.

Bella jumped onto the bed, before giving into the inevitable sleep.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

"Lunch is ready! Come get it!" Violet Evans cried out, as she set the last of the dishes on the table. She heard multiple footsteps running down the stairs. However, they stopped at the doorway.

"Let me out!" Noelle said angrily, as she pushed Lily back.

Lily shoved Noelle. "No, me first!"

The two girls were stuck in the doorway. Violet sighed exasperatedly at them.

Meanwhile, Petunia Evans skipped into the kitchen, and fixed herself a generous plate, all the while smirking at the two witches in the doorway.

Noelle finally managed to squeeze through, and smirked triumphantly at Lily as she fixed her plate. Lily scowled back.

Noelle Marie Charrier had been living with the Evans for the past week and a half. It was not that pleasant. Lily and she were constantly bickering, unless they were teaming up against Petunia. Violet Evans was at her wit's end with them. Ethan Evans was not there yet, but he was getting closer each day. Of course, he didn't even spend the whole day with them. Fortunately for him, he was on a business trip in Japan.

"Aren't you glad that you have one NORMAL daughter, Mother?" Petunia asked silkily, glaring at the two enemies.

"Well, aren't you glad, Mrs. Evans, that you have one SPECIAL daughter and one SPECIAL house guest?" Noelle said, glaring back at Petunia.

"ENOUGH!" Violet screeched. "Petunia, you are to go to your room. Lily, Noelle. I have had it with your fairly constant bickering. You are to go to the parlor, and you are to remain there until you can be CIVIL to each other -- "

Immediately, Mrs. Evans was met with protests from everyone. "I will not hear it. Do you understand?"

Lily glared at her mother. "I understand that you are going to have a lot of explaining to do come September when we're still in the parlor and not at Hogwarts," she said, stalking off to the parlor. Noelle followed her, rather reluctantly. Petunia smiled slightly, at the thought of their punishment, and skipped up to her room.

Violet Evans waited until the girls left the room before creeping into the den. "Grams?"

"Yes, my darling?" Grams said, from her seat on the sofa.

"I am in dire need of your witchy wonders," Mrs. Evans said with a faint smile. "It seems that Noelle and Lily can't seem to get along. So I sent them to the parlor, where they will remain until they can be civil. Can you put some charms or wards up to make sure they don't trick me?"

"Of course," Grams said with a grin, snapping her fingers. A faint POP was heard.

"That's it? You don't need your wand?"

"My dear," said Grams softly, "my powers, like wine, have ripened with age."

Meanwhile, Lily and Noelle were locked in the parlor.

"What a mess you've gotten us into this time, Charrier," Lily said snottily, sitting on the antique couch by the window.

"I should be thanking you, Evans. You are the one who got us into this. I was fine…" said Noelle, snidely.

"Well, I was fine until you came here!" Lily said angrily.

Noelle didn't bother to respond. She, instead, sat down quietly, staring off into space. Lily huffed in aggravation, and turned off to stare at the window. She watched as the sun set into the clouds. 

The sky was beautiful -- a swirling mass of pink and gold hues. The pinks slowly turned to a deep orange, as night set in. The oranges turned to a violet-ish blue, and the blue to black. Stars speckled the night sky. Lily opted for counting them. Anything was better than talking to Noelle Charrier, the Slytherin. Finally, Lily fell asleep, not anywhere close to counting all of the stars.

Noelle fell asleep long ago, as she was admiring the setting sun. If things continued going the way they were, Lily's prediction would be true -- they would still be there in September.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

James awoke as the first rays of dawn streaked into his window. Squinting his eyes, he groped around for his glasses. He recalled the previous summer, when he launched Michael out of the window, to retrieve James' boot, which he tried to decapitate birds with.

Dressing quickly, James went to wake Michael up. He charmed a pillow to whack his brother repeatedly, until he woke up.

James then moved onto the task of waking Bella. He had a great idea involving ice cream, purple slippers, and a tissue, but was dismayed to find Bella already awake and dressed.

"Breakfast is in ten minutes," James said cheerily. Bella nodded mutely, rubbing her eyes. Apparently, she was still tired.

James began to descend the stairs when he heard Michael shout, "JAMES! I AM GOING TO GET YOU BACK. OUCH! BUGGER! STUPID PILLOW! JAMES!" Smirking, James continued his way down.

Sirius, Charlie, and Thomas were already seated at the table, enjoying a hearty meal. Sirius waved a piece of egg at James. "Hullo," he said, his mouth full.

"Morning," James said.

"Was that Michael I heard? What are you doing to torment him now?" Thomas asked, arranging his pancakes, bacon, and sausage links into a happy face.

"Me? Torment my dear, beloved brother?" James asked sarcastically. "How could you ever think such a horrific thought?"

"JAMES!!!" Michael's voice broke out from downstairs. "HOW DO YOU STOP THIS BLOODY PILLOW?"

Thomas raised his eyebrow at James. Sirius, who finished his egg, grinned. "Pillow of Doom? Nice touch, Jamsie."

James' attention turned to Charlie Hunter, who had not yet spoken. "Good morning, Charlie," he said sweetly. A little too sweetly, because Charlie's eyes narrowed. She didn't speak, however, because she was guzzling down a glass of orange juice.

Bella came down the stairs, looking sleepy. She walked through the spacious kitchen to the table, grabbing some bacon strips.

"Bacon? Out of all this food, that is all you're having?" Sirius questioned her in shock.

Bella opened her mouth and closed it. She then tried again. "I'm not a breakfast person," she said softly.

Thumps were heard, and Michael came rolling down the stairs. A pillow was hitting him repeatedly.

"James," Michael said frostily. "I seem to have a pillow attacking me. Would you know why? Or even how?"

James hid a grin. "The newest Daily Prophet headline ought to be 'When Good Pillows Go Bad: The Michael Barnette Story."

"James, I'm warning you. OUCH!" Michael hollered, as he took a particularly hard hit to the head. "JAMES!"

"All right, all right. I don't really understand. I charmed it to stop when you woke up."

"Well, I'm up, aren't I?" Michael said wryly. "And the bloody pillow shows no sign of ceasing."

"Er… oops?" James said, in a rather high-pitched tone. Michael strode over to him angrily.

"My dear older brother," he began. Bella looked in amusement as the two brothers (who looked remarkably alike) faced each other, the younger one looking more menacing. "I seem to have a problem."

"What would that be?" James questioned, backing up.

Michael took several steps forward. "I can't decide whether or not I want to torture you slowly and painfully, or quickly and painfully. What do you think?"

"Oh, boys!" Charlie huffed. "Rather fight it out to the death than figure a way out of something." She muttered a foreign charm under her breath, and the pillow froze.

"Thanks," Michael said sincerely, rubbing his head.

James, however, was not going to thank Charlie now, or anytime soon. The pillow began to hit him as mercifully as it had hit Michael -- and that wasn't very merciful.

Edward and Elisabeth walked into the kitchen to find one of their sons sitting with his friends, eating breakfast, and another of their sons dancing around (trying to avoid the pillow).

"Oh, boys!" Elisabeth said, and she said, 'Finite Incantateum'. The pillow stopped immediately, and dropped to the ground lifelessly.

"So, are you all ready to go?" Edward asked. "The car is out front…"

Quietly, everyone stood up, and grabbed their respective bags. Elisabeth had them made, each engraved with their name. In their bags, supplies were stuffed to the brim.

They walked in single-file out of the door, Michael last. But someone (or something) grabbed Michael from behind.

"Godric!" he said.

"Michael. I wanted to wish you luck on your journey, because I know that you aren't telling me something. But you must do what you think is necessary. Just remember, you can always reach me with the book."

Michael grinned. "All right, Godric. In case of emergency, I'll contact you."

Godric's stern mouth softened into a smile. "That's all I wanted to hear," he said, embracing Michael like a son. Michael then turned off, and with a smile wave, walked through the door. Michael believed he heard Godric muttering, "Gods speed."

Michael caught up with everyone. They were double-checking, to make sure they weren't forgetting anything.

The six soon-to-be travelers went out to the car, where Elisabeth hugged and kissed everyone, wishing them luck.

"Now," Mr. Potter said sternly, "you are to go straight to New York City. There, you will go to the address I gave you, Michael. Mr. Bouvenla lives there. He runs what is pretty much a safe house for wizards. You are to stay there for as long as you can. I have written down other addresses for you to go to if worst comes to worst. You are to contact me weekly. Understand?"

The group chorused, 'Yes'. Edward nodded approvingly. "Now, remember. Just because you are going to another country does not mean that the threat is over. Be careful, and be wary."

Exchanging last good-byes, the group piled into the Ministry car.

They were off to a summer of chaos, disorder, and a whole lot of heck!

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

"Ketchup hair."

"Mud hair."

"Half wit."

"No wit."

"Will you just SHUT IT?" Noelle screamed.

"What? Because I'm winning?" Lily asked smirkishly.

"You are IMPOSSIBLE, you… you… you flobberworm!" Noelle screamed, almost pulling her hair out.

Noelle and Lily had been imprisoned in the same room together for two days now. Violet Evans transferred food into the room, and there was a bathroom in there, so there was no need to come out.

It's quite surprising that one of them isn't dead yet.

"Toad with pink hair and green polka dots," Lily said triumphantly.

"What do you mean by that? I'm a Slytherin. I don't do pink… oh no. You didn't!" Noelle shrieked, as she grabbed her hair. It was pink, with green polka dots. "You… you… half goat!"

Lily screamed as she looked down to find that the lower half of her body was now that of a goat. "AHHHHHH!!!"

Noelle smirked lazily at her (a trademark she learned from Lucius) from her perch on the couch.

Lily grinned, and waved her wand, saying 'Finite Incantateum'. She returned to her normal state.

"You know, you were more attractive the other way," Noelle said, twirling her wand.

"Oh!" Lily growled. "That is it! I have had it with you! Let's finish it right here, right now. One on one. Mano y mano!" She held out her fists as if a boxer would.

Noelle laughed. "That's cute."

"AURGH!!!" Lily screamed.

"Girls," they heard Mrs. Evans' voice carry over into the parlor, "there's no fighting going on, right?"

Staring, as if challenging each other, the girls answered, "Of course not!" Lily sat down at her spot by the window.

"Low down, slimy Slytherin!"

"High and Mighty Gryffindor!"

"El stupido!"

"Glad to see your linguistic skills," Noelle said, "you dirty ape!"

"Idiot."

"Moron."

"Nerd."

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

"Hey 'Stella!"

"AAAHHHHH!!!" Estella Black shrieked, jumping back. Jules Potter jumped into her room, which was on the second story.

"Good thing that tree is sturdy, or I would've had quite a fall," Jules said merrily, while Estella was still trying to recover.

"You scared me…" Estella panted, "…almost to death!"

"What can I say?" Jules said modestly, as she spun around. "I'm a trouble-maker!"

Estella seemed to immediately recover at the word 'trouble'. "Ooh!" she squealed. "Andromada is going to be waking up soon!"

"That was a good idea. Muggle hair dye. Who would've thought? I mean, magic isn't going to work, if they think it was a spell. It's per -- "

At that moment, a scream broke Jules off. Grinning, the two girls ran down the hall to Andromada's room.

Andromada was standing in front of her mirror, a look of utter horror resting upon her face. Her hair, her beautiful, long, straight, jet-black hair, was ruined.

Screaming again, she held out her hair. Gold and dark purple were streaked through it. Jules and Estella covered their ears, and remained silent. They had not considered the wrath of Andromada Black.

"Oh, 'Drom! What happened?" Felicity Black said, running into the room. 

Estella thought that she would break down into tears. However, Andromada was quite unpredictable. She whirled around, fire in her eyes. "Where is Sirius?" she said, in a deathly whisper. This voice chilled both Estella and Jules to the bone.

"Honey, Sirius is gone. He left early this morning to go on a trip with his friends. He couldn't have done this -- I've been with him since 2, helping him prepare.

"Then, that leaves only one other person in the Black home," Andromada said, slowly turning. Estella blanched. "And that leaves one of the Potters."

As if on a joint decision, Jules and Estella turned, and ran, and jumped out the nearest window. They landed in a tree, and climbed down quickly, running to Potter Manor.

The wrath of Andromada Black was not to be taken lightly.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

"So, I'm Michael Underling," Michael said, displaying his fake identification card for everyone to see.

"I'm Belle LaFaye," Bella, who was sitting beside him, said happily. "I have a good name!"

"Well," Thomas said, showing off his card from the seat behind them, "I'm Tom Thomas."

"Charlotte Anderson, at your service," Charlie said, from her seat.

"James Alexander," James called out, from in front of Michael and Bella.

Sirius, beside him, grinned. "I am Cyrus Blacking," he said.

The seven companions were on the airplane that would take them to New York. They could barely contain their excitement, but knew that they had to be calm, and not draw attention to themselves. No person could know where an agent of L'Ordine di Morte could be lurking.

After listening to the flight attendant tell them all the safety information, and after the plane ascended into the air, James and Sirius went on to planning pranks for next year. Thomas and Charlie leaned back and talked quietly.

"So, do you have any idea where Melinda might be?" Michael asked Bella quietly. He noticed a man out of the corner of his eye, who was watching him.

"Well, I wrote down all of her previous locations. Aunt Melinda always has a pattern, and always thinks ahead. Here," Bella said, sorting through her bag and grabbing a pad of parchment. Michael, noticing the man still watching them, wished that it was on a pad of paper.

And he then held a pad of paper in his hands.

Michael, believing he was going crazy, surveyed the names of Melinda's previous hideouts.

__

May 30 -- Franklin, Massachusetts

June 4 -- Beaverton, Oregon

June 9 -- Elmira, New York

June 15 -- Nacogdoches, Texas

June 23 -- Tombstone, Arizona

June 30 -- Ocean City, New Jersey

August 3 -- Nome, Alaska

Michael scanned the list over, looking for any relevance in date. He found none, and moved on to the names. "Well, she moved all over," Michael said, "and didn't follow one path. She went from Massachusetts to Oregon, to New York, to Texas, to Arizona, to New Jersey, and then Alaska. It's impossible to predict where she's going next by that way."

"Wait a second!" Bella whispered excitedly, her eyes lighting up. "I cant believe I didn't see it before!" she grabbed the pad out of Michael's hands. "Yes! That's it!"

"What's it?" James and Sirius asked at the same time, leaning back. Charlie and Thomas leaned forward.

"Going down. The cities read, going vertically, 'F.Benton', and the states read, 'Montana'. She is in Fort Benton!" Bella threw her arms around Michael happily. Michael blushed slightly, and only James noticed this.

"Well, what do you reckon, Captain?" James asked. "Are we leaving New York immediately, and going to Montana? And how? We have our brooms, but it's not that safe. I think Fort Benton is a muggle town. And what about Mr. Bouvenla?"

Michael considered all of this. "I think we should stay in New York for a little while. At least for two days, to adjust to the time changes. And then we can go off, claiming it was too dangerous to stay there. Now, I don't know how to get there. I don't think we could fly. I have my Invisibility Cloak, and James has his, but that's only two, and there are seven of us. And it's not safe to do magic, except for a life or death situation. The L'Ordine can trace magic. So that leaves out Invisibility Charms."

"What if we could get a hold of more Invisibility Cloaks?" Charlie asked softly.

"How? There are only around 20 in existence. And they're scattered around the world."

"And some are scattered in Greece, around the home of my stepfather. He has three, I think."

"So, we'd have five. And someone can double up. So, we'll do that while we can. It should take us a few days to get there, because we can't fly nonstop. We have to rest."

"But," Bella argued, "a lot can happen in a week! What if Aunt Melinda leaves, or something happens to her?"

"We just have to hope for the best," Sirius said. "And now, I'm hoping for some sleep. G'Night!"

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

"Geek."

"Dweeb."

"Petunia lover!"

Noelle spat. "Ugh! How could you even suggest something so crude?"

Lily laughed. "Petunia lover, Petunia lover! Charrier is a Petunia Lover!"

"Potter lover!"

Now it was Lily's turn to wrinkle her nose in disgust. "Potter? Eww… yuck!"

"Potter lover! Potter lover! Evans is a Potter lover!"

"Well, you're a low-down, slimy, good for nothing Petunia lover! And that is the worst insult I could bear," Lily smirked.

"If that's the worst insult, then you had better practice!" Noelle retorted, crossing her arms.

"What about you? You just repeat everything I say!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!" Lily screamed back.

"Do not!" Noelle shot.

"Do too!"

"Ugh, you are impossible! You know, I reckon you were right. We are going to be here until September!"

"And the worst part is that it's not coming soon enough!"

"Well, that's one thing we agree on."

"And the last, you Slytherin scumbag!"

"Muggle-lover!"

"Slimy Snake!"

"Hairy Cat!"

"AURGH!!!" they both screamed together, collapsing back into their respective spots; Noelle now by the window, and Lily by the door.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

The six companions had arrived in New York, and on the doorstep of Mario Bouvenla. Thomas knocked.

The door was thick, and had a small sliding window. It slid open, revealing two dark brown eyes. "Password?" a voice hissed.

"Er… Father didn't mention anything about a password," Michael hissed to James. Sirius, however, strode up.

"I am Cyrus Blacking. You must have heard of me, the world-renowned prankster supreme. These are my partners-in-crime, Mr. James Alexander, Mr. Michael Underling, and Mr. Tom Thomas. And here is our esteemed colleague, Miss Belle LeFaye."

"What about me?" Charlie huffed.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Over there, you will find an acquaintance of ours, Miss Charlotte Anderson. We are here to offer our services to you."

The once solemn eyes now glittered. "You should have said so. Come on in. I'm Mario Bouvenla. Welcome to the Wizarding Safehouse," he said, as he opened the door.

Mario Bouvenla was fairly short, and stout. He had curly brown hair, and large bushy eyebrows. His brown eyes were welcoming. He was wearing an apron that read 'Kiss the Cook', and it was smeared in several spots with spaghetti sauce.

Sirius walked in first, and the rest filed in a line behind him. The hallway they entered into was narrow, and one person could go through at a time.

"Are you hungry? You had a long flight. Come and eat," Mario said hospitably.

"What's cooking, Mr. B?" Charlie asked from the back.

"A recipe passed down from Bouvenla to Bouvenla, ever since Great Great Great Great Great Grandma Sophie in Italy -- Spaghetti!"

"Count me in!" Sirius said happily, following his nose to the kitchen.

Around the table, several people were already seated, and eating. "We weren't sure when you'd arrive," Mr. Bouvenla explained, as he served dinner.

Sirius sat down, and the others surveyed the people already sitting at the table. When Charlie noticed one person, she screamed. "Roz?"

A girl sitting on the end nearly fell out of her seat. "Charls? Charlie Hunter, is that you? Oh my gosh!"

Roz had long brown hair, and almond-shaped brown eyes. Her skin was incredibly tan, and she was fairly attractive (at least to Sirius).

Charlie ran over to her (as well as she could in the narrow space) and embraced her happily. "Everyone, this is Miss Roselyn Martin, a.k.a. Roz. She was my best friend in the world here. What's going on? I thought you were going to the New York School of Sorcery."

"Well," Roz said, "I was, until some European guy decided he wanted me dead. So I was sent here for awhile."

"We have so much catching up to do!" Charlie and Roz said at the same time. Forgetting dinner, Roz led Charlie upstairs, where they remained for the rest of the night.

After finishing their meal, the five remaining companions trooped upstairs, and into one of the larger quarters. They would all be staying together.

Huddling over maps, Michael and Bella decided on a route to take. Meanwhile, James, Sirius, and Thomas discussed possible names for their group.

"I still think we should stick with the Marauders," Sirius argued.

"I don't think so. That would make Bella and Charlie Marauders, and I'm not sure if I'm personally ready for that," James said.

"What about 'The Company of the Golden Lion'? Thomas suggested, leafing through a book.

"Too long," Sirius said.

"Can't we decide this later?" Thomas asked. "I'm exhausted."

"So am I," James agreed, claiming a bed. Sirius, giving in, selected a bed, and the three of them went to sleep.

Michael and Bella continued to plan their trip.

"If we stay South longer, it will be easier. And the weather appears to be fairer."

"I still think we should go North a bit more," Bella said, pointing to the map. In the process, she lightly brushed Michael's hand. She blushed lightly. "It's shorter."

"Well, if you're sure that it's better," Michael said, finally giving into Bella, "then we shall take that route."

"I just… I don't want to miss her. And I don't want anything to happen to her. She's always been my favorite aunt. I mean, Aunt Mariana, Mundungus' mum, is great, but I'm always been closer to Melinda."

Michael smiled encouragingly. "We'll find her, Bella. And then, we'll take her back to Potter Manor, and we'll go off to Hogwarts, and everyone will live happily ever after."

"As long as we all stick together, nothing can happen, right?" Bella said hopefully. Michael took her hand comfortingly. "Right."

Slowly, as if an instinct, Bella closed her eyes, and leaned gently forward. However, the sound of a door and laughter brought her back down to earth. Her eyes opened in a flash, and she noticed Michael had just opened his eyes also. She whirled around to find Charlie and Roz, climbing into beds.

"Well, if that's not an omen, I don't know what is," Bella said in defeat.

"An omen for sleep."

"Right. An omen for sleep. Good night Michael."

"Good night, Bella," Michael said gently, smiling slightly.

Bella climbed into bed, and wrapped her blanket around her. Dreams swirled in her head, but not all told of good fortune.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Jules and Estella were certainly not that fortunate at the moment. They were now the latest victims of the 'Wrath of Andromada Black'.

Estella's hair was dyed pink and green, sort of resembling that of a clown. Jules was bald for the day.

"You know, this is just great," Jules said sarcastically.

"We should've found out of Sirius wasn't there before we dyed 'Drom's hair," Estella said solemnly, running her fingers through her own hair.

Jules now looked determined. "Of course, we can't let this minor setback stop us."

"Would we be pranksters if we didn't?" Estella asked rhetorically.

Jules leaned back, and laid on the grass. "Well, I think that we could get out of the house sometime next week, and go to Christopher's house."

"All right," Estella drawled, as she to laid down. "And you still won't tell me this plan of yours?"

"Not yet." Jules closed her eyes. "I just want to make sure it's perfect and can't go wrong. I mean, this is the Opening of Term Feast. It has to be perfect."

"And perfect it shall be," Estella said.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

"What do you mean, you can't find him?" Lord Voldemort screeched, slamming his fist down on a table littered with parchments.

Vanter cowered before him. "Well, it seems that he has left the country, my Lord."

Voldemort's eyes flashed. Taking a deep breath, he muttered, "I need a strawberry milkshake." No one heard him, or answered his request. "Does no one in this whole bloody castle listen to me? Get me a strawberry milkshake, NOW!"

Lord Dkembvare, Voldemort's student, strolled in. Luckily for everyone, he brought a strawberry milkshake along with him. "Here you are, my Lord," he said merrily, handing it to Voldemort.

"Do you bring me tidings?" Voldemort asked him, somewhat hopefully.

"Why yes, my Lord. And what tidings they are! Although Barnette has left the country, we have discovered that he is somewhere in America."

"How is that going to help, Dkembvare? America is a vast country, and there are too many bloody safehouses."

Dkembvare smiled, and one of the curled tendrils of his hair fell into his eyes as he bowed down. "Lord Voldemort, we have discovered his companions, for one."

"Well?" Voldemort snapped, "who are they? More milkshake!"

Vanter hurried out of the room, to get his Lord a milkshake. Dkembvare, meanwhile, grinned. "My Lord, his companions are James Potter, Sirius Black, Thomas Brooks, Charlotte Hunter, and Arabella Figg."

"Figg?" Voldemort questioned. "Is she related to Melinda Figg."

"Yes, my Lord. And we have reason to believe that their trip had an ulterior motive behind it. We believe that they are trying to find Melinda before we do."

"Well, do you know where she is?" Voldemort shrieked. "That would be (here, he counted on his fingers) well, a lot of birds with one bloody stone! We could get them all!"

"I have men working on it. How are the prophecies coming, my Lord?"

Voldemort sighed. "More cryptic than ever. In one of the prophecies, it says that Fate will be an adversary of the Descendents, and yet, in later ones, it says that she will help them. Are there any new prophecies?"

"Just one. 'Fate shall be an old foe' it was, I believe."

"Very well. You are dismissed."

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

A/N: Well, that's it. In the next chapter, our friends in America are travelling to Montana, to find Melinda. But L'Ordine di Morte is right on their tale. Maybe another Michael/Bella moment. Estella and Jules will begin to plan their Start of Term Prank. We'll meet up with Remus, Kiana, and Toria, and see how their summers are going. Also, more Lily and Noelle conflicts. Who knows if they'll get back to Hogwarts? And, we are getting closer to the arrival of Fate! Fate is going to appear before Third Year is over!

Also, the Marauders will name a first female Marauder. And you, the readers, get to choose who:

Bella Figg

Charlie Hunter

Rhiane Richards

Just drop me a line and let me know! Also let me know what you think so far, and any suggestions/criticisms/pranks that you may have. The next chapter is going to wrap up the summer, for the most part, and it should be out sometime in mid April. Until next time…

****

~Noelle

Luckie7n13@aol.com

****


	2. Resistance

A/N: Well, here is Chapter 2. I am really sorry for the delay, but I was going through a rough time this past week. I'm starting to get back on track though. But back to the story. It is the rest of the summer from heck. The song 'Dare You To Move' is constantly used in this, for all sorts of situations. Finally, there are Michael/Bella scenes (which many of you are probably going to kill me for, by the way), more conflicts between Noelle and Lily, a major organization revealed. We'll also catch up with Kiana and Toria. Plus, more craziness with Jules and Estella (along with Christopher and Evan). Enjoy!

Now this is here in case you don't read the ending note. As a comment to a review:

HEY RSA! WELL, I THOUGHT OF THE 'TALKING OPENLY' ISSUE ON THE PLANE. THEY HAD AN INCREDIBLY EARLY FLIGHT, REMEMBER. I THINK IT WAS AT DAWN, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. SECONDLY, THEY WERE IN FIRST CLASS. NOW, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT WHENEVER I WOULD TAKE AN EARLY FLIGHT, FIRST CLASS WOULD ALWAYS BE EMPTY. SO, LET'S JUST SAY THAT THERE WASN'T ANYBODY ELSE THERE AT THE TIME, JUST THEM. AND YOU ARE RIGHT THOUGH. IT WAS NOT SMART OF THEM TO TALK OPENLY ABOUT SENSITIVE ISSUES. AND THEY WILL LEARN THEIR LESSON BEFORE THIS YEAR IS OVER, MARK MY WORDS. THANK YOU FOR THE COMMENTS AND THE REVIEW!!!

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Official Disclaimer: I do not own the characters that you recognize, the spells you recognize, and places you recognize; including but not limited to the following - Sirius Black, James Potter, Lily Evans, Arabella Figg (I own her personality though!) Remus Lupin, Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy, and Albus Dumbledore. Hogwarts, the Sorting Hat, Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and various spells. I do own what you do not recognize. So, don't take them without permission! I am not associated with any owners of Harry Potter (including the amazing J.K. Rowling) and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

MY3 ~ Marauders, Inc.

By: Noelle

Chapter 2: Resistance 

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

__

Dare You To Move

Switchfoot  
  
Welcome to the planet  
Welcome to existence  
Everyone's here  
Everyone's here  
Everybody's watching you now  
Everybody waits for you now  
What happens next  
  
I dare you to move  
I dare you to move  
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor  
I dare you to move  
I dare you to move  
Like today never happened  
Today never happened before  
  
Welcome to the fallout  
Welcome to resistance  
Redemption is here  
Redemption is here  
Between who you are and who you could be  
Between how it is and how it should be  
  
I dare you to move  
I dare you to move  
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor  
I dare you to move  
I dare you to move  
Like today never happened  
Today never happened  
  
Maybe redemption has stories to tell  
Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell  
Where can you run to escape from yourself?  
Where you gonna go?  
Where you gonna go?  
Salvation is here  
  
I dare you to move  
I dare you to move  
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor  
I dare you to move  
I dare you to move  
Like today never happened  
Today never happened  
Today never happened  
Today never happened before   
  
  
*******

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Bella lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. The room was painted black, but the room had stars painted on the ceiling, which twinkled in the dark. Bella tried counting them, but there were too many.

Charlie had to go and ruin everything. Well, Charlie and her friend, Roz, had to go and ruin everything. Bella and Michael had been so close to kissing, but the two 'friends' interrupted.

Bella snuggled into her covers, imagining what the kiss would've been like. She thought it would have been soft and tender, and unbelievably sweet. Maybe after, Michael would have smiled, and lightly kissed the tip of her nose, before telling Bella how beautiful she was.

'Wistful thinking', Bella muttered. Michael didn't have an interest in her. He was probably just blinking, or something. He wouldn't have kissed her.

But what if he would have? These thoughts ran through Bella's mind, until she was ready to scream. She bolted up, and grabbed her blanket, wrapping it around her shoulders.

Bella looked around the room, and noticed a window. She never saw that before. It had a seat in front of it, so Bella walked over, and sat down, tucking her knees to her chest.

Bella looked down at New York City. Some people were still bustling about, and there were cars everywhere, honking at each other. Bella looked up to see the stars, but they weren't visible.

"What are you doing?" said a voice at the back of her neck. Bella jumped, and turned to face Michael. Taking a deep breath, she sighed.

"Nothing," she muttered. This was fairly awkward for her, since Bella didn't know if Michael was actually going to kiss her before. All of these thoughts ran through her head -- it was so complicated. She was confused, which is never good in her case.

Michael walked to the other side of Bella, and sat down on the seat, facing her. He looked out the window, silent for awhile. Finally, he spoke. "You can't see the stars that well. I miss home. My real home, that is. Mum and I would go out onto the balcony every night, when I was younger. And we would just look at the stars. She would tell me all about them -- their names, their stories… everything. I've always loved stars."

"I was matching up each star with a reason why I like you," Bella said honestly and bravely. In actuality, she figured she had nothing more to lose.

Michael laughed, his eyes shining. "Didn't get very far, did you?"

Nodding solemnly, Bella said, "No. I ran out of stars."

Michael's jaw dropped. Then he closed it. Then he opened his mouth to say something. But he closed it again. Bella took this moment to give her final plea.

"Look, you don't have to take it that badly," Bella said softly. "I mean, I know that I'm not the ideal girl. My hair is okay, but my face is… ugh. And I know that I don't have that much of a personality. And I know that I'm more trouble than I am worth. But still…"

"Still what?" Michael asked softly, leaning in a bit closer to Bella.

"For some reason, I'm still praying for a miracle." Tears fell lightly out of Bella's eyes. Michael reached out, and gently wiped a few away. "Don't cry." 

Bella couldn't take it anymore. She leaned in, and kissed him.

And Michael kissed her back. It was everything that Bella thought it would be, for the most part. His lips were soft, and the kiss was gentle. Bella broke off the kiss, and stared into Michael's eyes. She then leant in, and kissed him again

They continued to kiss for awhile, when Michael finally broke it all off. Bella leaned back, and Michael wrapped his arms around her. Bella leaned against his chest, and stared out the window, at the night sky.

The stars seemed to burn much brighter now.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

"Pass me that pen, would you?" Noelle said politely to Lily, through clenched teeth. Lily handed her the pen, her lips pursed tightly.

"What do you need it for?"

Noelle was sitting on the floor, her back against an armchair. Her legs were spread out, and she was resting forward on her elbows. A pad of paper lay before her.

"I'm writing a letter to Child Services. This cruel and unusual type of punishment must be some sort of Child Abuse."

"It has to be! We've been here for over three weeks!" Lily said.

"Which," said Noelle, "is five weeks too many, if you ask me."

"Look, Charrier. There is an easier way to do this. Why don't we just pretend to be civil, so Mum will let us out? And then we can be as mean as we want."

Noelle dropped the pen. "Good point Evans."

Lily smiled smugly from her seat. "I know. I thought of it."

They both stood up, and ran toward the door. Lily reached out and tried to open it --

And she was expelled backward around five feet, into the armchair.

"What the bloody heck is going on?" Lily screamed. She looked up and could see her mother's shadow through the sheer curtains of the French doors.

"Beautiful work, Mum!" Violet Evans called out. "I didn't know that charms were that strong!" Her voice then directed itself to the two occupants of the parlor. "You are not to leave that room until you are actually and truthfully civil to each other! Understand?"

"Yes Ma'am," the girls called out, slumping back in defeat.

Noelle tossed an evil look at Lily. "You know Evans, this is all your fault."

"No it's not, you warthog!"

"It is so, you papaya!"

"Papaya? Is that the best you can come up with?" Lily questioned snidely, pulling her long red hair into a ponytail. "You're a cantaloupe!"

Noelle frowned from her position on the floor. She was lying on her back, facing the armchair. Her feet were bent, and resting on it. "You're a watermelon!"

"Coconut!"

"Cranberry!"

"Orange!"

"Grapefruit!"

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

"Bella! Bella!"

Bella rolled over, moaning, "I don't want to wake up, Mum!"

"Well then… ARABELLA FIGG, GET YOUR LAZY BUM OUT OF BED RIGHT NOW! WE'RE LEAVING!" someone shouted into her ear.

Bella jumped, and rolled right off of the window seat. She looked up crankily to find Charlie standing, grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

"We're leaving in twenty minutes," Charlie said. "The cloaks just arrived. And Mr. B is serving breakfast right now."

Bella groaned, as Charlie skipped out of the room. All of the memories of last night rushed back to her, and she smiled a bit. But where was Michael?

Throwing on a pair of jeans and a ratty old black shirt, Bella walked into the kitchen. True to Charlie's word, Mr. B has prepared breakfast. And what a breakfast it was! The table was piled high with eggs, sausages, pancakes and waffles, fruits, muffins, and bacon.

Bella loaded up her plate, at Mr. Bouvenla's request (she personally wasn't hungry), and sat across from Michael. He was talking to Sirius, but didn't even look up at her.

__

Welcome to the planet  
Welcome to existence  
Everyone's here  
Everyone's here  
Everybody's watching you now  
Everybody waits for you now  
What happens next

Bella looked up and noticed Sirius staring strangely at her. He must have known that something happened between Michael and Bella, since they didn't even mutter a 'good morning' to each other.

__

  
I dare you to move  
I dare you to move  
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor  
I dare you to move  
I dare you to move  
Like today never happened  
Today never happened before

"Good morning everyone," Bella said. Then to Michael, she said, "Pass the marmalade, Michael?" as normally as she could.

Michael passed the marmalade to her, muttering a "Here you are." Bella thanked him, and he said, "Your welcome." She had expected him to call her 'my dear' or 'love' or 'sweetheart' or something, but nothing of the sort happened.

The group ate in silence, except for Charlie and Roz, who were chatting up a storm. Afterwards, the group assembled in the hall.

"Thanks Mr. Bouvenla," Michael said, shaking his hand.

"It's nothing, my boy. Take care."

"Yes sir," answered Michael.

Everyone else thanked Mr. Bouvenla for his hospitality, and slung their bags over their shoulders.

By now, Charlie looked close to tears as she hugged Roz goodbye. Roz then went around, offering everyone advice.

When she came to Bella, Roz grinned, and hugged her. She took that time to whisper a message in Bella's ear. "Sorry about last night. I didn't know that me and Charls were breaking anything up. But it appears that you two made up for it. Yeah, you might not like the way he's acting, but don't be too hard on the kid. He's got a lot on his plate. Heck, when you all think of the future, he's wondering if he'll live to see tomorrow. Take care of him and yourself, and don't give up hope. Fate has a funny way of doing things."

When Roz came to Michael, she also embraced him. "You know," she whispered, "I know that you're scared. But just because you're scared, you shouldn't break up a relationship, or a friendship for that matter. You can't pretend it never happened, or it will just get worse. You two need each other more than anyone can guess. The future of the world depends on it, not to scare you or anything. Take care of Blondie over there, and yourself. Don't ever give up hope. Fate has a funny way of doing things."

Michael stared at her, as if she had read his mind. "Er… thanks. You take care too."

"Mikey, you always have a friend in New York," Roz said merrily, elbowing him. "You need anything, like advice or whatever, you let me know. Charlie knows how to get information to me."

"Bye," he said, as he followed his friends out to the back patio. They were going to take off from there. Michael and Bella ended up doubling up on a broom. Charlie was paired up with James, who was also a good flyer.

"So, we should stick close together. We're only going to wear Invisibility Cloaks in case of emergency. The cloud cover seems to be good enough. But we should talk when we wear the Cloaks, so we don't lose anyone. We are going to fly until we hit Chicago. All right?" Michael called out, taking his job as the leader. Everyone nodded, and they mounted their brooms and took off.

The next few hours were uneventful. The group continued to communicate with each other, and they didn't lose anyone. Bella clung to Michael, but they didn't speak but two words each to each other.

"You okay?" Michael had asked.

"I'm fine," Bella called out, her voice barely lost in the wind.

The group finally arrived in Chicago, and checked into a hotel with the muggle money Mr. Bouvenla had given them prior to their departure. The girls shared one room, and the boys another. In the morning, they left without even having breakfast, or touring the city.

Sirius and James now led the way. Michael and Bella took up the rear. That is, until some unexpected company dropped in on them.

"Hey, Mike?" Michael heard his brother's voice call. 

"What James?" he screamed over the wind.

"There's some brooms approaching from the east. Don't look that friendly either…"

Michael turned his head around, and saw a group of around ten people, wearing black cloaks. They were quickly approaching.

"All right. Invisibility cloaks, everyone!" With these words, everyone put on an Invisibility Cloak. They heard the wizards curse behind them, as the teenagers (or near-teenagers) disappeared from view.

The group huddled together, each grasping someone else, so they wouldn't lose anyone. They couldn't risk talking, since the mysterious wizards were still behind them.

The unwanted wizards turned around after flying for another thirty miles or so. Ten minutes after they left, Michael took the Invisibility Cloak off himself and Bella, and signaled the others to do so. They continued to fly until they spotted a farm beneath them.

"Let's go down," Sirius shouted. "It's late, and I'm tired. Plus, I'm hungry, and they probably have food!"

Michael gave his consent, and the group descended, and shrunk their brooms with a special powder Elisabeth gave them. It was not safe to use magic, with the L'Ordine di Morte close behind.

Thomas led the way to the main house, and knocked on the door. A fairly young man peered out.

"Who are you?" he called out, not opening the door.

"My name is Tom Thomas," Thomas said. "And these are my friends. We're travelling, but there aren't any places to stay the night. We were wondering if we could stay here."

The man examined them closely. "Well, you look harmless enough. Not like the people who stopped by earlier. Come on in," he said, opening the door. "Name's Eddie. Eddie McGibbens."

"Well, like I said before, I'm Tom Thomas. This is Charlotte Anderson, and this is Cyrus Blacking. Behind them are James Alexander, Michael Underling, and Belle LeFaye. Thank you, for allowing us to stay the night here," Thomas added, professionally.

Eddie laughed. "It's nothing. This is Green Oaks Farm. Myself and my wife Jennifer run it. And we have a son about your age, Bobby. So, are you travelling alone, or are you with anyone?"

"No," Michael blurted out. "We're meeting up with someone in North Dakota."

"Oh. You just reminded me of these fellows that stopped in earlier, coming out of the middle of nowhere and all…"

"Could you tell us about them?" Charlie asked.

Eddie looked at the group suspiciously, but said, "I'll tell you about it at dinner. We were just about to sit down."

Leading the group to the Dining Hall. It was a rather small, yet cozy room. There was a cherry oak table, with around twelve cherry oak chairs surrounding it. There was a fireplace at one end of the room, with a cheery little blaze burning in it. The room was cream coloured, and matched the cushioning on the chairs. There were paintings hung around of simple farmers and such.

Eddie took a seat. Michael looked around, and also took a seat. James sat in between Michael and Eddie, and Thomas took the other seat by Michael. Charlie sat by Thomas, and Bella sat across from James. Sirius sat in between the two girls.

"So, where are you all travelling from?" Jennifer McGibbens asked the weary travelers, after Eddie explained their presence. Jennifer was rather short, and had carrot orange hair, which was braided. She was covered in freckles! Jennifer wore a long blue dress (which brought out her eyes) with an apron over it. She looked like the typical American farmer's wife.

"Chicago," Michael answered. It was agreed that Michael would answer the travelling questions, and their intents.

"How'd you get here? I didn't notice a car out," Eddie said, his brown eyes gleaming rather suspiciously.

"Well," Michael faltered, "we were driving on the main road, but the cab broke down. The driver said that there were some farms up this way, and we should spend the night. He's going to meet us on the road again tomorrow morning."

There was a rather awkward silence, as Eddie and Jennifer looked at them suspiciously.

"Where are you going?" Bobby asked, breaking the silence. He had red hair like his mother, and brown eyes like his father. 

Michael smiled warmly at him. "We're going to North Dakota, to meet up with some of our relatives."

No more questions were asked involving their purpose for travelling, and everyone ate a country-cooked dinner happily, with general small talk flinging about. Bella remained quiet, but no one really noticed.

"So, can you tell us about those men who stopped here earlier?" Charlie asked, trying to sound casual.

Eddie's face hardened. "Three men stopped by. I asked them who they were, but they wouldn't answer. They asked if I had seen or heard of a Michael Barnette. I told them that I hadn't but they demanded to search the area. They looked mighty dangerous, so I let them. They didn't find what they were looking for, and they just disappeared afterwards."

"That's strange," Michael said, rather tightly. "Er… I'm feeling rather tired. Where would you like us to stay?"

"Well," Jennifer said regrettably, "we don't really have a lot of room. But you can stay out at the barn house. Breakfast is served at 5:30."

"I'm sorry," Michael said, "but we don't have a lot of time for breakfast. We were supposed to meet up with our relations yesterday, but we couldn't get a flight out of Chicago. And then with the car breaking down… So, we're trying to get there as soon as possible, which means meeting the taxi on the main road at 4:00."

"Well all right. You should find some blankets already in the barn. Have a good sleep," Jennifer said.

Sirius led the group to the barn, where everyone curled up on haystacks, wrapping themselves in the blankets they found. That is, everyone except for Bella and Michael.

"Michael?" Bella had called out.

"Hmm?" Michael answered shortly.

"Do you have a moment?" Bella asked sweetly. "I need to talk with you."

Michael yawned, stretching his arms. "Not really. I'm tired, and should get some rest."

"It will only take a moment," Bella pressed on.

Michael agreed, rather reluctantly, and Bella led him outside. She then turned him to face her, and took a deep breath. "Look… about last night. It was -- "

"It was a mistake," Michael interrupted her. "It should have never happened."

Tears welled up in Bella's eyes. "What?"

"It was a mistake. Can we just forget that it ever happened?"

Bella was speechless -- she couldn't put her feelings into words. Michael, however, took that as a yes, and hugged her. "Thanks Bella. You're a great friend." He turned, and walked into the barn. Bella stayed behind, shocked.

__

I dare you to move  
I dare you to move  
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor  
I dare you to move  
I dare you to move  
Like today never happened  
Today never happened before

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Michael exhaled deeply as soon as he walked into the barn. He felt like such a jerk. But he knew that he had to do that. He had to say what he said, and he had to do what he did. He didn't have a choice. But that doesn't mean he was happy…

Michael walked over to where he tossed his bag, and sorted through it. Smiling triumphantly, he found what he was looking for.

The Book of Gryffindor.

Making sure no one was awake, Michael climbed up a ladder onto the barn's second story loft. Pressing his hand against the book, he whispered, "Gryffindor Blood."

In a display of sparkles, Godric Gryffindor appeared, falling to the floor. "Oomph," he said, rubbing his head. "You, my boy, have impeccable timing. I was just about to dive into the lake at Hogwarts…"

Godric was wearing red and white striped bathing trunks, and had a blue swimming cap on his head. He was wearing bright yellow goggles, and had a yellow duck flotation device around his waist.

"Godric, this is important," Michael said. "I don't know if I made the right decision."

Godric quieted down, but still rubbed his head. Michael continued on. "It's just that… I'm leading my friends into danger. The Italian guys tracked us down. They know we're here. I can feel it."

"Michael," Godric said gently, using his free hand to rub Michael's shoulder. "They are your friends. They chose to go into danger for you. You should just accept it, and be gracious."

"Well, that's not all," Michael said, somewhat sheepishly. "I think I just messed up the best thing I had going…"

Godric sat down, groaning. "Well, this is going to be a long night. What did you do now?

"Hey! I take offense to that!" Michael cried out.

"Well, it's true," Godric said bluntly.

Michael leaned back, pressing against the wall. "Well, I like Bella. A lot. But I just messed that up."

"What did you do now?" Godric repeated his earlier question, in the same tone he had previously used. Michael made a face, but continued on.

"We kissed last night. For the first… well… first times. And she fell asleep in my arms. So, I was staring out at the barely visible stars when everything just hit me. By falling into… like… with Bella (here, Godric coughed, trying to conceal his laughter)… hey! By falling into like," Michael continued, shooting Godric a dirty look, "I was putting her in danger. So, I laid her down, and I roamed the safehouse. And the only solution I came up with was to pretend that nothing ever happened…"

"Which did not work out, I presume?" Godric interrupted.

Michael sighed, tilting his head toward the ceiling and closing his eyes. "It did at first. But then, she just wanted to talk. So, I went out with her, and before she could say anything, I told her that it was a mistake, and asked her if we could forget it ever happened. And before she could say anything, I hugged her, and told her what a great friend she was."

Godric smiled wryly. "You had to add in the 'friend' line…"

"Well, it worked," Michael answered. "Bella hates me."

"Did she say that?"

Michael frowned. "Well, no, but…"

Godric smiled, and patted Michael encouragingly. "You still have time to fix the damage you caused…" and with these parting words, Godric faded from view, leaving Michael alone to view a rather bleak night sky.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

"Are you sure we should do this?" Estella whispered from behind a tree.

Jules was lying on her stomach, behind a bush. "Now is not the time to back down, 'Stella. We came this far, so we aren't turning back!"

Estella snorted. "Jules, we live five kilometers away! It's not that far! Just imagine where our brothers are."

Jules inched forward, closer to the bush. "I don't want to think about them," she said, frowning.

"I swear Jules," Estella said, coming out of her hiding place, "you are such a baby sometimes!"

Jules sat up, crossing her arms. She pouted, before getting on the ground and inching yet closer to the bush. "Get down! They'll see you!"

Estella held out her arms and twirled in a circle. "Isn't that the point?" she screamed, at the top of her lungs. Windows and doors banged as Christopher Cauldwell and Evan Edwards ran out of the house.

"What are you doing here?" Christopher asked, wrinkling his nose. "This is my house."

"Really?" Jules asked sarcastically. "I was looking for Bozo the Clown…"

The boys looked at each other quizzically, before realizing Jules was being sarcastic.

Christopher Cauldwell was cute, most would agree. He was fairly tall for his age (12), and had dark brown hair. He was fairly tan, which was most striking against his pale green eyes. He looked like a good kid, but he was a true prankster at heart. That's why he and the girls got along so well.

With his shorter blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes, Evan was positively dreamy. He was of average height and weight. He was more well-mannered than his best friend, and always managed to get them out of trouble by his charm. Evan too had the heart of a prankster.

"What are you doing here?" Evan repeated Christopher's question, looking at Jules and Estella suspiciously. He then turned around to face the rather large white house behind him, to make sure it was still standing.

"It's so boring at my house! You have to save us!" Jules whined, grabbing onto Christopher's arm.

Christopher backed away slowly from Jules. "I know you Jules Potter. And I know that you are up to something. So can't you go do this something to James or Sirius?"

Estella answered, "No. They're not available for pranking at the moment."

"Well, I don't want to be pranked!" Evan cried out. Simultaneously, Evan and Christopher backed away from the their two prankster friends.

Jules scoffed at this. "We don't want to prank you! We want to prank other people! But we figured that you were bored too and would be ecstatic at the chance to ruin someone's life."

Evan and Christopher thought long and hard about this. "Er… alright. As long as it doesn't involve us…" Christopher cried, still unsure about Jules' intentions. He had long knew that Jules was the true mastermind of the horrible pranks that were played on them at Hogwarts. Estella just went along for the ride, although she must have improved some of them. Jules wasn't intelligent enough to do half of the pranks by herself.

"So, where do we start?" Evan asked, as Jules and Estella smiled sinisterly, rubbing their hands in anticipation.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

__

I dare you to move  
I dare you to move  
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor  
I dare you to move  
I dare you to move  
Like today never happened  
Today never happened  
  
Maybe redemption has stories to tell  
Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell  
Where can you run to escape from yourself?  
Where you gonna go?  
Where you gonna go?  
Salvation is here

"BLEGH!!!" Michael screamed, as a stream of water hit his face. He rolled down the haystack, and looked up to find the angry eyes of Arabella Figg staring at him.

"We have to talk," Bella said tightly, grabbing the front of Michael's shirt and pulling him up. He allowed himself to be dragged away.

Bella stopped outside of the barn, and released a flabbergasted Michael from her death grip. She opted for slapping him across the face. "You jerk!" she said furiously.

"Uh…er… but…" stuttered a red faced Michael. A red hand mark was visible on his left cheek. He gently touched it. It stung like a wild beast.

"No buts. You led me on! You made me believe that you loved me! You acted like nothing happened!" Bella slapped him again, and followed that by stomping on his foot with her boot.

"OUCH!" Michael screamed, grabbing his right foot. It was throbbing in pain.

"You hurt me, Michael Barnette, more than any other person has ever hurt me before, and more than any person ever will."

"Will you listen to me?" Michael whispered furiously, putting his foot down. "I know that I was stupid. But I was just thinking of you…"

Bella's face was now close to his own. "Really? Thinking of me when you broke my heart?"

"Look Bella. I'm a walking target. I'm a sitting duck. If you love me, then Voldemort will hurt you."

Narrowing her eyes, Bella stared at Michael. "You don't think I can take care of myself?"

"Bella, I don't want you to get hurt!" Michael screamed in exasperation. The light of the moon cast a shadow on Bella's face, so he couldn't see her expression. "I am sorry. I thought all night about what to do, after you know. And just ignoring it seemed to be the best choice. Bella, I want to like you. But I can't. Everyone I care about is going to die, and I don't want you to die!"

Michael heard Bella take a deep breath. "You, Michael Barnette, are the only person that can get to me like this. For some crazy reason, I believe you…"

"Well, you know what. Forget Voldemort. If he wants to come after you, I'll protect you. I can't do this anymore…" and with these words, Michael pulled Bella close to him, and leaned in toward her.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

"I can't believe I'm still stuck with you!" Lily cried out dramatically, collapsing on to the couch.

Noelle glared at her. "Well, princess, it's no picnic for me either."

"What do you mean by that?" Lily said, in a high pitched voice. She lifted her chin and stared at Noelle defiantly.

"Well, you're a spoiled little brat who gets whatever she whines for. You live in your own little 'Lily World' and don't see what's going on in the real world. You're completely oblivious to everything."

Lily glared stonily at the brunette standing in the center of the room. Lily stood up, and walked over to her, standing at full height in front of Noelle. "I know exactly how the real world works," Lily said, "and if it worked anything like it was supposed to, evil people like you wouldn't exist!"

"I have pretty much been on my own since I was two. So, just because I look out for myself means that I'm evil? Welcome to the real world, Lily. Everything isn't black and white!" Noelle stared coldly into Lily's jade green eyes.

"Been on your own getting spoiled by your Death Eater parents? You, Noelle, are the one who hasn't seen the real world. You have been sheltered your whole life, and you think you can accuse me of being blind?" Lily looked away, chuckling to herself. "And you call me a spoiled and blind princess…"

"My parents are dead! They were killed for opposing Voldemort. I've seen both sides of the world, Evans. The light and the dark. I've seen the pain and the happiness. I've seen the in between. Don't act like you know me, Evans, because you have no idea! This conversation is over!" Noelle turned on her heel, and stalked over to the small couch in a corner of the room. She sat down, and enveloped herself in a blanket.

"I had no idea," Lily said softly, having the decency to look down. "I'm sorry."

"Well, so am I. Evans, I swear… if you tell anyone, I will personally tear off each of your limbs and feed them to Edgar Wiltkens' pet iguana. I don't want your pity, or anyone else's pity. Now leave me alone."

"Well, you don't know anything about me either, Charrier!" Lily challenged. "My grandmother is sick and dying! And I have to watch it! At least you didn't have to watch your parents die slowly but surely. I've had my problems too, you know. You don't know me either, Charrier. You don't…" Lily laid on the couch by the window, staring out at it. Noelle made no comment about what she had said. Maybe Noelle was right. Maybe she didn't know how the real world worked. Maybe everything wasn't black and white.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

__

Welcome to the fallout  
Welcome to resistance  
Redemption is here  
Redemption is here  
Between who you are and who you could be  
Between how it is and how it should be

Just as Michael had leaned in to kiss Bella, they heard the sound of an alarm. They broke apart in surprise, wondering what was going on.

"They got John!" a voice shouted out in the dark.

"Over there," Michael said, pointing toward the house. Around fifteen people were running toward them. Michael noticed Mr. McGibbens in the lead.

"Get inside, now!" he shouted to them. Michael and Bella, not understanding what was going on, ran into the old barn. The others were awake, and looking incredibly confused.

"What's going on?" Sirius yawned. Bella shrugged her shoulders.

By then, everyone had assembled in the barn. Two men were using a large, thick wooden beam to secure the barn door.

Suddenly the haystacks were lifted toward the ceiling, revealing high tech equipment underneath it. James walked toward it, and gently touched it, to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

Ed McGibbens ran toward one of the machines, and began pushing buttons. He noticed the travelers staring at him and the others, and he looked back at them, offering them a smile.

"Welcome to the Resistance," he said, busily at work, pushing the red buttons furiously.

"What's going on?" Charlie asked, staring at her surroundings incredulously. She stared even more as Eddie McGibbens' blonde hair disappeared, and was replaced by a black hair, and his skin darkened drastically. His eyes remained the same. She turned over to Jennifer McGibbens. Or at least who she thought was Jennifer. The women standing there had lone dark hair and beautiful dark brown eyes. Her skin was a dark olive, and her farmer's wife's clothes had disappeared. Who Charlie assumed was Bobby was standing next to his mother, with dark hair and dark eyes.

"Josephine, why don't you explain," Eddie called out, pushing more buttons.

A woman and a boy came up from behind the group. "Remus?" James said, recognizing the boy at once.

"James? Sirius? What are you guys doing here? And all of you?" Remus looked at them, clearly confused.

"Hullo everyone. I'm guessing you know each other. Well, I'm Josephine Lupin. And you are at one of the main headquarters of the Resistance."

"What's the Resistance?" James asked, rubbing his head.

"The Resistance is the main opposition to Dark activity around the world. We're the people that had to go into hiding because things got so bad. So we fight evil from behind the scenes, pretty much. DaVilla over there is our leader." Josephine pointed to a man.

"Mr. McGibbens?" Charlie questioned.

Josephine laughed. "Well, he's Jose DaVilla. He and his family faked their own deaths to get Voldemort off their backs, and moved out here to help out. They've been using a lot of facial charms, as you can probably tell. You see, there have been a lot of problems in America lately. Britain has already chosen sides in the battle of the Light and Dark, but America was wide open to persuasion. Why don't you kids go and hide up in the loft? In case we get penetrated, you should have enough time to get away. You have your brooms, right?"

The group nodded mutely, heading up the ladder. Remus took up the rear. As soon as he pulled the ladder up, the group whirled toward him.

"Why didn't you tell us you were here?" Sirius asked.

Remus calmly sat down on a box. "I didn't know I was coming until June 28th. We just left. The Death Eaters had found my father and me so we came here to meet up with my mum. I wasn't allowed to contact anyone, since the area has been under constant surveillance since you all came abroad. Mr. DaVilla told me last week to expect you all, but he wasn't sure when."

"That's it! He's know who we were all along!" James said.

"So, what's going on?" Bella asked. She was leaning against the wall, her knees tucked to her chest.

"Well, it appears that some dark force has penetrated the barriers. They took someone prisoner. They probably found you all, and are trying to kill you. Plus, they get to destroy the Resistance along with it. Mr. DaVilla said the men that came didn't look like Death Eaters, though." Remus looked rather pensive.

"That's because they aren't. The people chasing us are the L'Ordine di Morte," James said bluntly.

Remus' blue eyes bugged out slightly, and his jaw dropped slightly, but he quickly regained his composure. "Well, that explains it."

"Who did they take prisoner?" Sirius asked curiously.

Remus took a deep breath. "My father."

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

It was a warm, sunny day in Hogsmeade. Kiana was over at Toria's house, and they were too bored to go outside. Toria was lying on her back, on the wooden floor. Kiana was lying on the couch, her head hanging over the edge. Her long black hair was piling up on the floor.

  
  
"I'm bored," Kiana said finally, breaking the silence. "There's nothing to do!"

  
  
Toria rolled on to her stomach, facing Kiana. "Well, do you have any suggestions?" she asked patiently. That's just how Toria was -- patient.

  
Victoria Ava Vanter, Toria for short, was 13 years old. Her birthday was in July. She was rather quiet and patient by nature. However, Kiana changed that. Now, if Toria was pushed enough, her temper would shine through. Toria was short, and her blonde hair was in a bob above the shoulder. She had been dying to cut off her hair for ages, and when she suggested it to her best friend, Kiana was up for it. Since her stepfather's death, and her near death, Toria has been more zealous, but since she learned her birthfather (her stepfather's brother) joined Voldemort, and had it in for her and Mrs. Vanter, Toria had been slightly more cautious in the long run.

  
'I'll try anything once, and twice if I like it' was Kiana Walter's motto. She would be turning 13 in three short weeks. Her mother, a Squib learning magic, raised Kiana. She lived in Florida for most of her life, and loved swimming. In fact, Kiana is a Water Elemental. She moved to Hogsmeade, next door to Toria, when she was 10. Ever since, the two were best friends. Kiana was definitely the leader. She usually thought of what to do, or what not to do. She was intelligent, in a calculating sort of way. Kiana was sometimes over cautious, analyzing the consequences of their plans. Other times, Kiana was flamboyant and zealous, throwing herself into one crazy scheme after another. Luckily, Toria had straightened her out, and Kiana would now just somewhat analyze every plan. The two really were a perfect match. 

  
  
Pondering Toria's question, Kiana responded, "If I thought of something to do, I would have said it instead of saying 'there's nothing to do!', Toria."

Toria frowned. "No need to be snippy about it. We can think of something…"

Kiana didn't move. "No. Mum confiscated all of my pranks, because of what we did to Ms. Medermumpher."

Toria smiled at the memory. Kiana and Toria had planted fake flowers in her garden so that when one went to smell the flowers, they would spray a clear, smelly, sticky liquid at them. And Ms. Medermumpher's garden was being judged in the Garden Contest that day. Needless to say, she did not win, breaking her record of seven consecutive wins. "That was fun. Mum took away all of my stuff after we exploded Professor Hoffman's shed."

"Who could have imagined that our very own Potions professor lived in Hogsmeade, a short distance from here? I thought we were exploding Mr. Hardinger's shed." Kiana grinned.

"And what about when we snuck up to Hogwarts and wrote insulting phrases on Minnie's hot pink robes?" Toria reminded her.

  
Kiana lifted her head up, and reclined in the couch, her hands behind her head. "Good times," she muttered, "good times…"

  
  
Toria jerked up as she heard a crash outside. She and Kiana exchanged a confused look before running out the back door.

Noticing Mrs. Medermumpher lying on the ground in shock, they ran over to her. She was lying on the ground, appearing to be having a nervous breakdown.

"What's wrong?" Kiana asked, trying to help the old lady up. Mrs. Medermumpher just lay, shaking.

Kiana saw Toria straighten up, staring at Mrs. Medermumpher's home. Slowly, Kiana turned slowly, dreading what she would find.

Mrs. Medermumpher's garden -- her prized garden -- was a wreck. Little gnomes that used to be inanimate were walking around, conversing in gruff tones. The garden was also conversing, but in musical tones. Mrs. Medermumpher's home was rainbow coloured.

  


Kiana dropped Mrs. Medermumpher on her back. She stood up furiously, surveying the home.

"Toria?"

"Yes?" Toria answered, in a state of shock.

Kiana gazed at her friend, placing her hand on her hip. "Did you do this?" she questioned, "without me?"

"No," said Toria, still in a confused state.

Kiana ran inside, grabbed her mother's wand off the desk, and ran back out. She then used a floating charm to float Mrs. Medermumpher inside her home. The inside was luckily normal. She then appeared back outside. Toria had not moved.

  
"Do you know what this means?" she continued on, as if she had never left.

"Is it bad?" Toria asked innocently.

  
  
Nodding grimly, Kiana answered, "Yes." When Toria had no further questions, Kiana went on. "It means that someone is pranking on our turf. On OUR turf. And they must pay. We must retaliate!"

Toria thought that Kiana sounded like a war-crazed general, but did not say anything. She was too worried. "But who could it be?"

Kiana walked forward toward the house. "Well, it appears to be the work of a Firstie, or a previous Firstie. If they were in Second Year, they would have thought to place anti-counter charms on their spells," she said, as she removed the colouring charm.

"But they appear to be rather skilled," Toria argued, transforming the gnomes back to their inanimate state. She performed a charm on the flowers, which ceased their constant chatter. "By the way, we should be incredibly happy that your mom has a wand that she leaves unsupervised, and she's out at the moment…"

  
  
"I agree," Kiana said, "we are lucky for unattended wands." She frowned in concentration. "But the transformation of animate to inanimate and vice versa begins in First Year. The question is -- what do we do now?"

"Well, the people involved are bound to try to prank us, right?" Toria said, looking around the street.

Kiana looked behind them. "Yes, but I don't see where you're going with this."

"Well, it's quite simple. We wait for them to strike, we curse them, and then we kick their arses the good ol' muggle way!" Toria enthusiastically said, pumping her fist in the air.

Reaching out and lowering Toria's fist, Kiana responded, "We'll let's go wait."

And so, the girls went into the Vanter's yard, and waited ever so patiently for the rogue pranksters to strike again.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

__

Maybe redemption has stories to tell  
Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell  
Where can you run to escape from yourself?  
Where you gonna go?  
Where you gonna go?  
Salvation is here

Lily had been debating all night on what to say to Noelle. They had not spoken two words in the past two days. The argument still ran through Lily's mind. She felt horrible. She was curled up on the sofa, her dark red hair hanging in her face. She peered through it, viewing as Noelle examined the room, looking for possible means of escape.

"Look," Lily said, finally ending 'The Quiet Game'. "I am really sorry. You were right. I didn't know. And I am sorry."

Noelle stood motionless, staring out the window. It was early, and the first rays of dawn were peaking through the towering clouds. "I guess I'm sorry too. About the argument and about your grandmother. But can I trust you, Evans?" she said, coolly. Noelle was always cool and collected. It was many of the things Lily couldn't stand about her. Next to Noelle, Lily always felt so vulnerable. And she hated it.

"I don't know, Charrier. Can you use my first name?" Lily snapped back.

"Lily. Lily, can I trust you?"

"I think so," Lily answered slowly. She had not yet seen Noelle's face.

"I want to bring down the people responsible for my parents' deaths. I want them in Azkaban. But I am going to need help. Can I trust you to help me? Even if I am a 'low-down Slytherin'?"

Lily chuckled. "If you can trust a 'high-and-mighty Gryffindor', then I guess I can trust a 'low-down Slytherin. What do you need me to do?"

"It's mostly research work. We need to find out what actually happened that night. I have a faint idea of who was involved, but I want to make sure. But you will help me?"

"I'll help you," Lily said, still scrutinizing the mysterious girl standing by the window. It was so strange -- just when you thought you had her figured out, she goes and changes on you.

"And another thing -- we cannot associate at Hogwarts. Right now, I am trying to be under-cover. If I'm suddenly friends with a Gryffindor, especially you, I think I'll be figured out."

"Like I would want to associate with you!" Lily shouted. Then looking at the harsh look on Noelle's face, Lily looked down. Her face softened as she said, "All right. But why are you undercover?"

"I can't tell you," Noelle said, watching as the last golden ray broke into the sky.

"Don't you trust me?" Lily asked in a small voice. She was hurt, although she didn't know why. Why should she care what Noelle Charrier the Slytherin thought of her?

"Only time will tell," Noelle said. "Only time will tell…"

"Do you think this counts as being civil?" Lily asked jokingly.

"If this isn't being civil, then I am a Ecuadorian ice fisher," Noelle said, walking to the door. At the same time, Lily and Noelle reached out, grasping the door knobs, and twisting them.

And they walked right out of the room.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

The night was dark. The forest was rather opaque, but emitted some light. A woman with silvery blonde hair crept through the forest with the agility of a cat. She sprang over streams and logs, and waded through rivers. The moon lit a faint path for her to follow.

The woods were dark and damp. It had rained earlier, and the woods smelled of it. The woman usually loved to take a walk in the woods after it rained, but she hated it today.

She threw herself on the murky ground as she heard voices. "Where is she?" someone shouted.

The woman heard another voice shout, "I saw her go this way!" The footsteps faded softly as they went in the opposite direction. She breathed a sigh of relief, and continued once again on her way.

The Resistance needed her.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

"Over here!" Estella Black whispered, gesturing toward the large yellow Victorian home. "This is it!"

  
  
Evan Edwards (not related to Charlie or Ryan) panted. "Are you sure this time, 'Stella?" he asked.

  
Estella threw him a look of contempt. "This is the last house! Of course this is it!"

Evan and Christopher dropped their armloads of pranks, as did Jules. Estella smiled at the house. "Where do we start?" she asked happily. She received a few gasps of air in response. "Oh, come on guys. It wasn't that bad."

Christopher stood, bending over with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. "You didn't have to carry 20 friggin' pounds of stuff all over Hogsmeade!"

"Point taken," Estella said, "no need to be snippy. So, where do we start?"

Jules stood up, panting slightly still. "I think I could do the colouring charm, but I have to go on the roof to do it. Why don't you guys start setting up the firebombs and dungcrackers in the front?" she suggested, naming their two specialty products. Sirius Black had molded a firecracker and a dungbomb together. The end results were either firebombs or dungcrackers. Firebombs would explode, and zoom around, letting out a odorless green smoke. Dungcrackers would emit sparkles that smelled like dung.

Christopher grinned. "Sounds like a plan to me! I'll start in the backyard. Why don't you two go work on the front?" he said to Estella and Evan. "It'll take more firepower to do that." After they consented, and they and Jules went on their way, Christopher surveyed the yard.

He first noticed the pink flamingos in the yard. Obviously Kiana's decorating suggestion. She had set some up in the Gryffindor Common Room that previous year. Grinning, he remembered how Toria loved to kick the stupid birds. He performed a charm Estella had taught him that would bring the birds to life in a sense. If they were kicked, the flamingos would kick the kicker right back. That would teach Toria to not give in to animal cruelty.

  
  
He was in the process of setting up dungcrackers in the bushes when he felt something poke the back of his neck. He straightened immediately, and put his hands up.

  
  
"So, you're one of the rogue pranksters. Now, I know how to use this, so don't make me…" he heard Kiana Walters say.

  
  
Christopher's mind reeled. "Isn't magic illegal over holidays?"

"That's true. They can trace it by seeing which wand performed the magic. Now, this is my Mrs. Walter's wand, so she has a special permit to use magic in Hogsmeade, from the Minister of Magic himself. He happens to be my uncle," Toria said sharply. 

"I therefore suggest that you tell us what the heck you are doing, before I decide to do something really not nice." Kiana pushed the wand tip further into his neck. "Oh, and who are you working with or for?"

  
  
"I'll never tell," Christopher said bravely. "Kill me if you must."

"There are worse things than death…" Toria said threateningly, in sort of a singsong voice.

Christopher inhaled deeply, closing his eyes. "Do your worst!"

And that is exactly what Kiana Walters and Toria Vanter did…

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

__

Welcome to the fallout  
Welcome to resistance  
Redemption is here  
Redemption is here  
Between who you are and who you could be  
Between how it is and how it should be

The dungbomb exploded in a puff of green smoke. Sirius smiled at Charlie sheepishly. She just looked at him exasperatedly, before leaning back and trying to sleep again.

It was early. Through the one-way window (one can see out, but not in) Sirius could see the sun peaking out. He had not slept since they had been awoken earlier the previous night. Th others were trying to sleep, but Sirius was making it rather hard for them. He was nervous, and tinkering with dungbombs, or muttering to himself.

The adults had earlier managed to soundproof the downstairs. Luckily, they didn't know about Godric, so Godric would sometimes give Michael information that he thought essential. Michael would just nod his head while Godric told him, not wanting his friends to know yet. He would then mention what Godric told him five minutes later. However, at the moment, Sirius was the only person awake.

Sirius examined Remus. He was in a troubled sleep, tossing and turning on the small piles of hay. He was sweating bullets, and would at times call out, "Dad? Dad!"

Sirius remembered a time like this. He was six at the time. His father hadn't come home one night, and his mother was a nervous wreck. He remembered her running through the house, gathering everyone together. They then sat in the parlor, by the fireplace, just in case. He hadn't understood what was going on. He didn't know that Death Eaters had attacked Diagon Alley, and his father was trying to capture them. He didn't know that Voldemort himself was rumored to be there. He did remember how lost and alone he felt. He kept asking where his father was, and he remembered his mother's teary eyes as she answered 'I don't know, sweetheart'. He also remembered how upset he was with his uncle. He was too scared to go look for Orion Black, and just sat, doing nothing. Sirius had wished he were old enough to go looking for his father. And Sirius told the man, 'If you aren't going to save my dad, then I will'. His uncle had smiled weakly, and grabbed the floo powder, screaming 'Diagon Alley' as he stepped into the flames. The two returned an hour later, with Orion slightly injured. Sirius remembered how he had looked up to that man, and thought of him as a hero.

Sirius looked out the window, and was about to try to sleep when he noticed a group of people run out of the barn. They were waving their wands. Sirius guessed they were trying to put protection charms up. He wished he could help. He wasn't that bad at Charms. Or he could even look for Remus' father!

Without a word, Sirius grabbed his broom and flew out the window. 

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

FINAL A/N: Okay, this chapter isn't that good, and it's late. I have been going through a whole buncha crap lately, and haven't had any time, patience, or energy to write. I apologize, and beg for your forgiveness. 

I introduced Roz Martin for a reason. She will come back in Fourth Year. Also, in case you are wondering about Laia. She is still in Greece, and will return to Hogwarts in September as a Third Year.

Also: So far, I'm sure the chapters seem somewhat serious in comparison to my past stories and past chapters. Well, I am trying to show that the world is changing, and it is no longer really safe for them in the real world, and that Hogwarts is sort of a haven for them. The craziness will resume when they get back to Hogwarts.

Okay, I don't have Voldemort. I decided to make this series one chapter longer. I am going to conclude the summer in the next chapter, and they will begin to head off to Hogwarts. Or they'll at least prepare to. I just have too many ends to tie up, and this chapter would end up being another 95 pages if I wanted to finish it. So, in the next chapter, we WILL hear from dear Voldemort. We will find out who that mysterious woman in the woods is. We will also find out what Kiana and Toria did to poor Christopher, which is 'worse than death', and what will happen to the rest of them. There will be two or more Lily/Noelle scenes. Remember that they are NOT friends. I repeat, NOT FRIENDS!!! They are just putting up with each other mainly out of guilt and pity. They do not trust each other. You may ask 'Why is Lily helping Noelle then?'. She's hoping that after they catch the people responsible, they'll send Noelle somewhere else to live. In the next chapter, most of it will have to do with the Resistance. It's just easier since I have just about everyone there. We might take a short trip to Dumbledore's, and see what he has to say about everything. If you have any suggestions, criticisms, or ideas, just drop me a line in the review box. Thanks!

Special thanks to **KIM**, who has had the patience to help me with this chapter, and beta it. I owe you so much! Thanks, thanks, and a thousand more thanks!!!

~Noelle


	3. Rescues and Revenges

A/N: Hey. Well, this has had a much needed rewrites. It's better, but it still feels a little off. Oh well, things are going to be a lot better at Hogwarts…

I took the liberty of changing Charlie's stepsister's name. I wanted to make it more... I don't know... just more. Her name is now Annabelle Alana Stramopolis. She goes by Anna Edwards though. Remember, she just uses the last name 'Edwards' when travelling and when she doesn't want everyone to know she is a part of the Royal Greek family. Her real last name is Stramopolis. 

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

MY3 ~ Marauders, Inc.

By: Noelle

Chapter 3: Rescues 

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

The sun slowly rose over the rolling farmland, lighting up the dew on the grass. Birds chirped good morning, welcoming the dawn. Animals pranced about, ready to begin their day. This small area of Illinois began to come alive.

That's more than one can say about the occupants of the barn in Green Oaks.

Michael felt himself been shaken. He opened his eyes, and looked around. Everything was still blurry. He made out a faint figure, who was trying to lift him up.

"MICHAEL! THIS IS AN EMERGENCY!" a voice screamed. Michael shook his head. He didn't really comprehend the words. The voice continued on, not actually shouting, in fear of being overheard. But he wasn't screaming in their ears, Michael thought wryly. The figure continued to shout urgent words, and Michael caught a few. Several seconds later, however, it all hit him.

Michael said groggily, "What do you want, Godric?" The figure was much sharper now.

"Sirius! He left!"

"What? Sirius is right there," Michael said, as he gestured toward the empty space on the floor. "Or not," he finished, looking around, searching for his friend. His eyes found no sign of Sirius, and he couldn't find Sirius' broom either. As Michael gazed at the open one-way window, he pieced the things together.

"He just got up and left around ten minutes ago. You have to go help him! L'Ordine di Morte agents are all over. Who knows what they'll do if they capture one of your friends…"

"Well then," Michael said, his attitude peaking through. He was not in a good mood after sleeping on a hard wood floor for four hours. Sighing rather grudgingly, Michael grabbed a broom and began to mount it. However, just as he was about to take his seat, Godric pulled it away. Michael fell on his bum on the loft floor. "Ouch!" he exclaimed, glaring daggers at his ancestor.

"You can't go, Michael. They'll kill you."

Michael frowned from his sprawled position. "Then why did you wake me up? And what am I supposed to do then?"

"I don't know!" Godric boomed, his patience wearing down.

Michael was also beginning to get aggravated. "How could you not know? You know everything! And besides, they won't expect me to go. And I look enough like James from far away, they won't go trying kill me right away. Before I left, father told me that they don't kill anyone but their target."

Staring at the ceiling, thousands of thoughts flooded Godric Gryffindor's mind. "Why don't you tell the people downstairs? They could get him," he said thoughtfully, stroking his chin.

"And what am I supposed to tell the people downstairs? 'Er… my dead ancestor, Godric Gryffindor, told me that Sirius flew away in the night. Can you go get him?'. No! They won't go get him or else they would have gotten Remus' father a long time ago! Now, I am leaving and there is nothing you can do about it! And, by the way, if that prophecy you told James in First Year is any indication of what is to come, then I can't die yet. And that's all there is to it."

With these parting words, Michael flew out of the window. Godric sat down on one of the piles of hay, burying his head in his hands. He did not notice the dark brown eyes that were scrutinizing him.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

"Over here!" Estella Black whispered, gesturing toward the large yellow Victorian home. "This is it!"

  
  
Evan Edwards (not related to Charlie or Ryan) panted. "Are you sure this time, 'Stella?" he asked.

  
Estella threw him a look of contempt. "This is the last house! Of course this is it!"

Evan and Christopher dropped their armloads of pranks, as did Jules. Estella smiled at the house. "Where do we start?" she asked happily. She received a few gasps of air in response. "Oh, come on guys. It wasn't that bad."

Christopher stood, bending over with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. "You didn't have to carry 20 frickin' pounds of stuff all over Hogsmeade!"

"Point taken," Estella said, and added rather haughtily, "no need to be snippy. So, where do we start?"

Estella was quite a character, as Felicity Black told her friends. Estella was usually quiet and soft-spoken, but she could also be loud and unbearable. Felicity told her friends that Estella would make a wonderful actress. Indeed, at that moment, Estella did look like a drama queen. 

Jules stood up, panting slightly still. "I think I could do the colouring charm, but I have to go on the roof to do it. Why don't you guys start setting up the firebombs and dungcrackers in the front?" she suggested, naming their two specialty products. Sirius Black had molded a firecracker and a dungbomb together. The end results were either firebombs or dungcrackers. Firebombs would explode, and zoom around, letting out a odorless green smoke. Dungcrackers would emit sparkles that smelled like dung.

Christopher grinned. "Sounds like a plan to me! I'll start in the backyard. Why don't you two go work on the front, and perhaps indoors after?" he said to Estella and Evan. "It'll take more firepower to do that." After they consented, and they and Jules went on their way, Christopher surveyed the yard.

He first noticed the pink flamingos in the yard. Obviously Kiana's decorating suggestion. She had set some up in the Gryffindor Common Room that previous year. Grinning, he remembered how Toria loved to kick the stupid birds. He performed a charm Estella had taught him that would bring the birds to life in a sense. If they were kicked, the flamingos would kick the kicker right back. That would teach Toria to not give in to animal cruelty.

  
  
He was in the process of setting up dungcrackers in the bushes when he felt something poke the back of his neck. He straightened immediately, and put his hands up.

  
  
"So, you're one of the rogue pranksters. Now, I know how to use this, so don't make me…" he heard Kiana Walters say.

  
  
Christopher's mind reeled. "Isn't magic illegal over holidays?"

"That's true. They can trace it by seeing which wand performed the magic, and trace it down to the exact location. Now, this is my Mrs. Walter's wand, so she has a special permit to use magic in Hogsmeade, from the Minister of Magic himself. He happens to be my uncle," Toria said sharply. 

"I therefore suggest that you tell us what the heck you are doing, before I decide to do something really not nice." Kiana pushed the wand tip further into his neck. "Oh, and who are you working with or for?"

  
  
"I'll never tell," Christopher said bravely. "Kill me if you must."

"There are worse things than death…" Toria said threateningly, in sort of a singsong voice. Her brown eyes flashed, and Christopher gulped. Toria never lied… not once.

Christopher inhaled deeply, closing his eyes. "Do your worst!"

And that is exactly what Kiana Walters and Toria Vanter did…

"What did you do?" whispered a sultry voice. Christopher grasped his throat, his eyes widening in shock. He then had the chance to examine his perfectly manicured fingers. He looked down, noting the apparent changes.

"You made me a girl!" he said. "And a pretty one, at that! A feminine girl, in a red dress! And I have… ugh! Feminine parts!" He covered his chest with his arms, gazing at the two girls indignantly.

Kiana and Toria smiled in triumph. "Nice legs," Kiana said, trying to keep a straight face.

Toria grinned. "And you'll stay that way until you answer our questions!" Her eyes now held an air of satisfaction. Kiana was staring at Christopher, her eyes penetrating his own. Christopher was reminded of raging rapids in Kiana's gray eyes. Shuddering, he turned his attention back to Toria. "Can you imagine _Christina_ here walking into Hogwarts? What a response she'd get from the male population!" Toria grinned.

"And in that smashing red number!" said Kiana, gesturing toward Christopher's outfit.

"All right, all right!" Christopher whispered throatily, covering his eyes. "I'll do whatever you tell me too. Just change me back!"

Kiana snapped her fingers. Christopher removed his hand from his face, and looked down.

"Sit!" Toria snapped, "I am so tired of these First Year games." Christopher immediately obeyed her. "So, what do you think you're doing?"

"So, who was it?" Kiana asked, circling Christopher like an eagle circles its prey. "Charlie? Potter and Black?"

"Potter and Black," muttered Christopher.

Toria slapped her knee. "I am going to pummel Sirius!" she said.

"They blackmailed us into coming here! Evan and I are completely innocent!"

Snorting, Kiana said, "My arse you are!"

"Haven't I been punished enough?" Christopher cried out, throwing out his arms as if in defense. He appeared to be on the verge of tears.

Toria and Kiana exchanged looks. "Well, I suppose you have. But I suggest getting out of here as fast as you can, before we find your friends."

Christopher didn't need to be told twice. He leapt up, running toward the Three Broomsticks, where he knew they had a fireplace.

As soon as he left, Kiana and Toria erupted into laughter. "A girl? He saw himself as a girl?" Kiana choked out. "You are getting to be superb at those Illusion Charms!"

Toria smiled modestly. "Oh, but you deserve credit too. The 'Nice Legs' comment was too much for him…"

"So, that is what Christopher Cauldwell fears most? Being transformed into a girl. Now, that is an interesting piece of information," Kiana said, still laughing.

"Better tuck that little tidbit away. It could be useful…"

Laughing, Kiana managed to choke out, "I'm sure it will be," before collapsing on the ground once again.

Toria smiled faintly. "Well, let's go find the accomplices to conspiracy, and tell them the judges' verdict."

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

The night was dark. The forest was rather opaque, but emitted some faint light. A woman with silvery blonde hair crept through the forest with the agility of a cat. She sprang over streams and logs, and waded through rivers. The moon lit a faint path for her to follow.

The woods were dark and damp. It had rained earlier, and the woods smelled of it. The woman usually loved to take a walk in the woods after it rained, but she hated it today.

She threw herself on the murky ground as she heard voices. "Where is she?" someone shouted.

The woman heard another voice shout, "I saw her go this way!" The footsteps faded softly as they went in the opposite direction. She breathed a sigh of relief, and continued once again on her way.

The Resistance needed her.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Lily and Noelle quietly packed their trunks. Now that they had escaped the parlor, they were getting along a little better. But not much. They still had numerous fights and arguments.

Lily was still packing her possessions that she didn't want Petunia rifling through. Noelle was trying to close her trunk.

"You are so impossible!" Lily said, rolling her eyes.

Noelle gazed at Lily, brushing off her comment, and adding one of her own. "You are a self-centered prat."

Lily marched over to her. "You're calling me self-centered? All you care about is yourself! That's why you're in Slytherin!"

"Oh, what would you know?" Noelle muttered, as she tried to shut her trunk. Lily looked in her trunk, and turned red with anger.

"Is that my blouse?" she screamed, reaching into Noelle's trunk and grabbing it. "It is! You… you thief! And you thought you could get away with it too, didn't you?"

"It's only fair since you took my favorite green shirt!" Noelle yelled back, snatching the white gauzy blouse out of Lily's hands. She re-folded it, and put it in her trunk.

Lily's eyes flashed angrily. "I did not take your shirt, you egg-head!"

Noelle glared at Lily without flinching. "Egotistical beast," she said, her voice lacking emotion. This peeved Lily, who shouted more names at Noelle. Noelle too was starting to get aggravated. "Moron!" Noelle was trying to latch her trunk. "Oh, this stupid thing won't shut!"

Lily walked over. "Let me help." She jumped on top of the trunk, sitting on it. Noelle struggled with the latches, but eventually got them to shut properly.

"Thanks, ignoramus," Noelle called out.

Lily tried to hide her smile. "Git!"

"Well, I'm ready," Noelle called out, pushing her trunk off the bed, and onto the floor. She proceeded on to kick it under the bed.

"We don't start for another three days," Lily said.

"Well, that gives me plenty of time to remember what I forgot."

"Nice point, airhead."

Noelle grinned, and threw a pillow at Lily as she exited the room. "Later, Potter lover!"

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Sirius flew, searching the ground below him. He had seen a few people wearing heavy black cloaks, but he managed to evade them each time. The strange part was that they didn't really chase him… they knew who they were after, and didn't care for anyone else. Sirius knew those were the people of the L'Ordine di Morte. Once he was chased by a Death Eater. He had known it was one of them because the man did not give up for a while. He had figured that the Death Eaters were the ones interested in the siege of the Resistance. The L'Ordine just wanted Michael. Which meant that the Death Eaters had Mr. Lupin. Sirius found himself searching for the Death Eaters below, trying to keep out of their sight.

He was sure that if he could find Mr. Lupin, everything would be all right, and the Dark Wizards would just go away.

Remembering the stories he had heard of the L'Ordine, Sirius shuddered. Cold, heartless, and incapable of feeling any compassion, they hunted their prey to the ends of the earth, and usually accomplished their goal. They did not go after any others -- just who they had been paid to go after. They were worse than the Death Eaters, from what his mother told him. Sirius felt an ache in his heart as he thought of his mother. He actually missed her. He missed Estella and even Andromada. At least it would all be over soon. They would return to Hogwarts in two days. And then, everything would be normal again. As normal as it could be. 

Voldemort was gaining power. Sirius recalled the Daily Prophet he had found in the loft. It had fallen out of Mrs. Lupin's pocket when she came to deliver food. Voldemort's army of Death Eaters and Elites, led by Lord Dkembvare, had seized several magical cities, including Wartzlebury, in Wales, and Helga's Haven, south of London. They were small cities, of course, completely magical, but however their location made them a threat to the entire magical community.

Sirius had been searching for four hours, and decided to grab a bite to eat. He had packed few provisions, not knowing how long the search would last. He flew into a tree, settling on the branches. He was well camouflaged, and wasn't worried the Death Eaters would find him. His mind cleared, and he felt oddly relaxed. A small voice told him that he was tired, and should sleep. He was exhausted. Sirius leaned against the tree trunk, and closed his eyes.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

"It's you again!" James whispered. He had awoken to find the somewhat-transparent figure of Godric Gryffindor pacing around the loft. He looked around. "Where's Michael and Sirius?"

"If I only knew…" Godric muttered. "They ran off to find a Mr. Jonathan Lupin."

James' mouth dropped. "With all those people out? They'll get themselves killed!" Then, his mouth resolute, James grabbed a broom, and mounted it.

"Oh no you don't," Godric boomed, stepping in front of the window. "I'm not going to be responsible for three deaths…"

"James?"

Both Godric and James whirled around to find Charlie stretching her arms, her eyes closed. "James?"

Godric, giving James a look to say 'You had better do what I said', disappeared, before Charlie opened her eyes.

"Er… yes?" James said, mounting his broom once again.

"What are you doing?"

James' mind whirled. "Er… nothing," he answered stupidly.

"Whatever you are planning on doing, I'm coming with you," Charlie yawned. Before James knew what was happening, Charlie grabbed one of the Invisibility Cloaks, and climbed on behind James.

"Hold on tight," James said, surrounding. "We're off!"

Godric reappeared as soon as James and Charlie left. He shook his head sadly, as he looked out the window. "I won't be responsible for three deaths. I'll be responsible for four! Including my two heirs!"

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

"Are you done yet?" Estella asked, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. She was impatient by nature.

Evan frowned. "Almost. Shouldn't Chris have been done by now?"

"He should be," Estella answered, "unless he thought of something extremely evil, fun, and time-consuming to do. What about Jules?"

"I don't know. I reckoned she should have finished too. You don't think… well, never mind. That's unlikely."

"What's unlikely?

Evan and Estella whirled around. Kiana Walters was blocking one of the doorways. She was tapping one hand with her wand. And she did not look happy.

"Er…" Evan stuttered.

"Now, you wouldn't be trying to prank my best friend in the entire world and me now, would you? And you wouldn't be trying to prank on our turf?" Kiana took a step forward.

Estella grabbed Evan's arm. "I'm sorry. I would love to continue this discussion, but er… we have an appointment. Somewhere. Somewhere far away…" she said, as she and Evan backed up.

"Going somewhere?" asked Toria Vanter, as Evan and Estella backed right into her. She too held a wand.

"Now, what should the punishment be for these too criminals?" Kiana asked aloud, taking another step toward them.

Answering, Toria said, "I think the jury should reach a unanimous decision. So, the jury needs to talk this over…"

Kiana, using her mother's wand, muttered 'Petrificus Totalus'. Evan and Estella dropped to the ground.

The two soon-to-be Third Years huddled in the corner. After a brief session of hurried whispers, they announced they had reached a decision.

"Now, you have two choices. You can either keep your mouths shut, and be sentenced…" Kiana began brightly.

"Or we can all make a deal," Toria interrupted. "What do you think?"

Evan and Estella didn't say a word. They couldn't. "Oh, that's right," Kiana muttered. She performed Finite Incatanteum, unfreezing the criminals.

"So, this plea bargain… what do you want?" Evan said nervously. He brushed his sweaty palms on his pockets, and avoided eye contact with their captors.

"The names of the rest of your accomplices. Is Potter involved? Or is it Brooks? Or maybe it's Remus…" Kiana began to name off names, while giving Estella and Evan penetrating glares, hoping their nervousness would give them away.

"And if we tell you? What happens to us?" Evan pressed on.

"We will be somewhat merciful," Toria promised.

Evan raised his eyebrows to Estella. Estella was standing still, looking down. "Well, that's enough for me," he said. "What about you, 'Stella?"

Estella remained silent. Evan took this as 'it's up to you'. "Jules Potter and Christopher Cauldwell."

"We have already dealt with Christopher," Toria said.

Evan's jaw dropped. "But… what… what did you do to him?"

Kiana grinned sinisterly. "Let's just say that he has had a whole new perspective on life…" she said cryptically.

"What are you going to do to us?" Estella finally spoke up, and Toria noticed happily, her voice held a note of trepidation.

"Have you ever heard the saying two heads are better than one?"

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Pushing open the door, Noelle bustled in to the room. "I brought you some tea and biscuits," she said to Grams.

Grams smiled. "Thank you, dear."

Noelle looked around the room. The walls were covered in pictures featuring Grams with some famous person. She saw Grams with Albus Dumbledore and Curtis Wingington, a famous Quidditch player. Most of the pictures moved around, but some remained stationary. Noelle noticed one picture with Grams and Marilyn Monroe, the famous muggle starlet. She turned to leave the room.

"Wait dear. I was hoping we could talk."

Noelle froze when she heard Grams' commanding voice.

"Come. Sit right here."

Noelle slowly walked over to the chair by Grams' bed. She sat down, and Grams clasped her hands.

"You know, I went to Hogwarts. Many years ago, that is. I was two years above your Headmaster. I was a Gryffindor."

Noelle remained silent. She didn't quite know what to say.

"I learned many things at Hogwarts. One of the most important things that I learned was that I was a Seer. I could catch glimpses of the future…"

"Pardon me, but I don't see how this involves me…" Noelle said, looking down as she twisted her hands in her lap.

Grams exhaled deeply, smiling faintly. "Of course, you don't," she muttered. "Of course…" Grams stared out the window for a moment, as if searching for words. "I changed the future," she blurted out. "And if the world ends, it's my fault…"

Noelle stared at her, noticing that Grams' eyes were strangely glass-like. "What?" she asked, her eyebrows arched high. "What do you mean by ending the world?"

Grams continued on, as if Noelle had never spoken. "I am sorry," she whispered to an invisible person. "I am so sorry." Tears rolled down Grams' face. "My dear," she said to Noelle. "You must do but one favor for me. You must remind Lily of the trunk. Remind her, or things will be much worse. The trunk holds all the answers needed to defeat Voldemort. But not yet. It is not your battle. But you still must prepare. There will be a battle, not the final. You must not use the contents. It is not your battle. Not the final battle," Grams began to babble on, not making much sense. Noelle slowly backed away, as Grams' eyes rolled to the back of her head. Grams jumped up then, quickly. "What happened?" she asked, clutching her heart.

"I… I have to go," Noelle said, backing out of the room. "I'm sorry to disturb you… but I have to go." She twisted the doorknob behind her back, and opened the door, and shut the door softly. Lily was behind her.

"What was that about?" Lily asked, her eyes matching the fiery tones of her hair.

Noelle turned away, resuming her cold manner. "Nothing. Leave me alone!" she snapped, running into her room, and collapsing on her bed.

The end of the world? Oh, what had she gotten herself into?

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Jules had been in the basement when Estella and Evan were discovered. She had heard everything through the air vent that led to the parlor. And was she mad… "Those… those traitors!" Jules seethed, as she tried to figure how to escape. "Evan is going to wish he had been left with Kiana and Toria when I'm done with him…"

The basement seemed to be inescapable. There was a small window (too small to climb through). There was also a door, which led to the kitchen. Jules knew that the chances of her making a clean get-away were slim to none.

"And Christopher…" Jules added, talking to herself. "He just left! What am I supposed to do? Let's see… maybe I could blow a hole in the wall… or expand the window…"

"Or you could just bend over and say your prayers," a voice called out. Jules whirled around to find Toria and Kiana standing at the top of the stairs. She was speechless, for the first and last time in her life.

Kiana smiled sinisterly. "What should we do to Ms. Potter now, Toria?"

Toria answered quietly, "I don't know. The possibilities are endless…"

"What did you guys do to Christopher? And Estella and Evan?" Jules asked curiously, regaining control of her voice.

"Well, Christopher has had a whole new perspective on life… a more feminine one," Toria said cryptically.

Kiana grinned. "As for Estella and Evan… well, you know how they say two heads are better than one…"

Jules gasped, and slowly backed away. Kiana and Toria came forward. "The jury finds Julianne Elisabeth Potter guilty, and will be sentenced accordingly."

"What am I guilty of?" Jules asked.

"Messing with two members of the Venustians. The jury must deliberate your sentence," Kiana said. "And don't move!" she added teasingly, after freezing Jules. She then huddled together when Kiana to think of a 'suitable' sentence.

Moments later, they broke apart, smiling evilly. Jules gulped. "What are you going to do to me?" she asked.

"You'll find out soon enough," Toria said, stepping forward. Waving Kiana's mother's wand, she muttered, "Usted es cuál es dicho."

Jules had covered her face, vaguely listening to the spell. She figured she could discover a counter if she knew it, but she never heard the words before. 'Probably some foreign spell', she thought. After Toria was done, Jules examined herself. "What did you do to me?"

"I wish you luck Potter," Kiana said brightly. "You're going to need it. Now, I suggest you leave before we decide to do worse!"

Jules ran up the stairs to the fireplace, not needing to be told twice.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

The banging on the door made Josephine Lupin jump. It wasn't like Death Eaters to knock, so she went over and opened the door. A cloaked figure ran in, covered in mud and soaked to the bone. The figure threw back her hood, revealing long blonde hair. "Melinda Figg? Is that you?" Josephine whispered. The other occupants of the room turned to look at the woman in the center.

"Who else would be stupid enough to attempt to get past the L'Ordine and the Death Eaters?" said the women with a hint of cold humor in her voice. "Now, I want to know what you people think you're doing." she snapped.

Jose stepped forward, his wand in hand, frowning. "Melinda, it is wonderful to see you, but to what is the reason of your unexpected arrival?"

"You're in trouble," Melinda said. "What better reason for being here? Now, where are the children?"

Josephine stared at this face from her past. "They are upstairs," she said, shrugging. "The safest place for them to be…"

Melinda smiled sarcastically. "Is that so? Well, you're in even more trouble than I thought. Alas, some of the children are upstairs. But what of the others?"

The hostility in the air was obvious. The group backed up, leaving Josephine and Melinda in the center of the room, anger radiating off them.

Josephine, giving Melinda a penetrating glare, walked upstairs. She ran back down in a panic. "Black. Potter. Hunter. Barnette," she panted. "All missing…"

At once, the Resistance was in an uproar, accusing each other of losing their charges. Jose, the self-appointed leader, hushed them. "Someone has to go out after them…"

Josephine's eyes flashed. "You are going to send people out now," she said in a deathly whisper, "when my husband was taken yesterday?"

The Resistance was once again at each others' throats. Melinda slipped off, and went upstairs. She saw some young faces she recognized, including the face of her niece. Turning her attention away from the sleeping figures, she found a dusty broom in the corner. It was old, but would still work just fine. Melinda dusted it off, and flew out the window. It would be hours before the Resistance elected someone to go, and Melinda knew there was no time to waste. She flew off, without a second glance to the barn.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

"It's a good thing we didn't have to go to Diagon Alley this year…" Lily said. The Evans were driving to Kings Cross Station on the first of September.

"Yeah. Can you imagine everyone if they saw me with a warthog such as yourself," Noelle said, grinning.

"Why didn't you have to go again?" Violet asked from the driver's seat. Mr. Evans was gone once again, on a business trip in Korea. Petunia was home with Grams.

"Well, they changed the standard Third Year curriculum. So they had to get all the books from this specialty book store in Malaysia. We have to pay for them when we get to school. So I need ten galleons, Mum."

Violet gazed at the two girls in her rearview mirror. "Grams put some money in your change purse. She put extra this year because you get to start travelling to that one town…"

"Hogsmeade," Lily supplied excitedly. "I can't wait! I've never been to a wizarding town before!"

Noelle leaned back in her seat, sighing. "You see one wizarding town, you see them all…"

Lily carried on just as excited as before. "You packed my permission slip, right Mum?"

"Yes, my Lily," Violet said, as she made the right turn into the parking garage. "I packed yours too Noelle. Do you need any money?"

Noelle smiled at Mrs. Evans. "No, I have enough stashed at Hogwarts. But thank you all the same, Mrs. Evans."

"I insist on you calling me Violet. Mrs. Evans makes me sound so old!"

Noelle grinned. "Violet."

"Now Lil, I don't want any more owls telling me of what you did to that Potter boy. The neighbors were getting suspicious, owls at our house from three in the morning up until six at night."

Lily groaned. "Yes mother."

Mrs. Evans parked the car, and stepped out. She unloaded the girls' trunks, putting them on carts. She grabbed Lily hugging her, and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Mum! What if people saw you?" Lily screamed, struggling to get away.

Violet hugged Noelle and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Noelle didn't struggle to get away.

"Good bye! Take care! Don't get in too much trouble!" Violet yelled, as the girls wheeled their carts away.

They reached the entrance to Kings' Cross Station. "Well," Lily said, "I guess this is where we go our different ways…"

"I guess it is," Noelle said. "I'll see you at Hogwarts."

With these parting words, the girls wheeled their carts in opposite directions, seemingly enemies once again.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Michael flew for awhile, passing over several camps. He kept one hand steering his broom, the other on his wand. At the other camps, there had been no sign of Sirius, or Mr. Lupin, so he kept travelling, hoping to find them soon.

He had come close to two of the camps -- close enough to catch snatches of what was being spoken. He had heard comment made of a 'mischievous boy', and hoped it was Sirius. If it was, it meant he wasn't dead.

The light broke through the thick leaves of the tree Michael hovered in. He peered at the camp below him. It looked normal enough, but it was different. He had a feeling... just a feeling that Sirius had been here. Michael wasn't sure if he was here now or had just been taken through. As he was considering this, a hand reached out of nowhere, covering his mouth. Michael began to scream, although is screams were muffled, when a familiar voice told him to shut his bloody mouth before he shoved a boot in it.

"You bloke," James muttered, as he slowly uncovered Michael's mouth. "You could have gotten us killed! How idiotic are you? I mean, running off without telling anyone where you're going, right into Death Eater camps when there are people trying to kill you... smart, Mikey, very smart!"

Michael smiled in return. "Hullo James," he whispered. "Hullo Charlie." Charlie nodded, now very alert at the danger she had demanded James to take her into. "Nice of you to drop in, but I had the situation under control."

The scowl on James' face deepened. "Listen here. It is my job to go and get myself into trouble. This is the sort of thing that I would do. Michael, you are far more reasonable than this, so what is going on?"

"That is what I would like to know," said a deadly calm voice behind them. Michael, James, and Charlie turned slowly around to find Melinda Figg, Bella's aunt, behind them on a bent broom, not looking happy at all."

Michael looked surprised. "How did you find us?" he asked, looking around to make sure there would be no more unwelcome visitors.

"Would you like the truth or a lie?" Melinda asked frostily.

"Truth please," James said brightly, smiling faintly. When he saw the look Melinda gave him, the smile faded quickly.

Melinda cleared her throat. "I am an Empathist. I have the ability to feel auras and souls. When I felt five warm souls surrounded by dark, cold souls, I knew it was you."

James' frown deepened. "Surrounded?"

"Did you not think that there would be patrols guarding the boundaries of the camps? It is a wonder you managed to get past them, but you did."

"So, what do we do?" Michael asked, looking rather paranoid at the moment.

Charlie finally spoke up from behind James. "We all have our wands. Why don't we just start stunning people until we get to Sirius and Mr. Lupin?"

Melinda's face became harsh. "That is the last thing that should be done, child. There are Dark Wards that can sense magic. If we even use the slightest bit, they will know where we are. I don't even know if we are safe now. There are such things as Dark Empathists, you know. Our presence may already be known, so it is best that we work quickly. I know that you are all pranksters, and for once I am thankful. Do you happen to have any of your pranks with you?"

Michael and Charlie emptied their pockets, as did James. Melinda found herself holding an array of 'dungcrackers', 'firebombs', and several vials of potions and dusts.

"This will do," Melinda said absentmindedly, handing two vials and a 'dungcracker' to James. She also handed two vials and a 'firebomb' to Charlie. "I assume you know the Duplication charm, being the roguish pranksters that you are," she said somewhat sarcastically. "So, here is what you are to do. Duplicate the round things as many times as you can. We have to make the Death Eaters believe that they are surrounded. Next, you are to pour the potions and the dusts on whoever will not leave. I believe your Invisibility Cloak will come in handy for that, James. You and Charlie must work together. Michael, I want you to find Sirius and do this around him. As soon as you are able, you have to swoop down, and grab him. Do not stop flying until you reach the Resistance. You will undoubtedly be chased, but the wards that were set should keep the Dark Souls away. Understood?"

"Yes," the three chorused as one, rather mechanically.

"Good luck," Melinda said, flying off on her bent broom. Michael offered James a smile, but he did not return it. He flew off, Charlie holding their tools tightly. Michael sighed, before going off to find Sirius.

It was surprisingly not hard to find Sirius. Michael set to work duplicating the dungcracker he had been given. When he heard shouts from the other side of the camp, he began to throw them below. He flew around, keeping out of sight, but keeping up the idea that the Death Eaters were surrounded. All but one fled, and that one was nearly standing on top of Sirius. Michael plummeted downward, trying his best to uncork the two vials he held. He somehow managed to, without losing control, and poured them on the man. The man screamed, and Michael smelled the grotesque odor of burning flesh. Perhaps he shouldn't have used both at the same time...

However, now was not the time for regrets. Michael grabbed Sirius' arm, pulling him behind him. Sirius' wrists were bonded, but that was all. He flew at a leisurely pace until Sirius shouted for him to fly faster. Death Eaters were on their tail.

Michael had to swerve several times to avoid the curses and hexes sent their way. He just prayed to the Gods that he was going the right way. He soon himself in familiar territory, the Death Eaters still behind them. Michael was glad when he saw the barn and heard the screams of the Death Eaters caught in the barrier. He crashed through the door and landed in a heap on top of several of the adults. Bella ran over, helping him and Sirius up.

"I'm so glad you're all right!" she said, throwing her arms around Michael. She then released him and stepped back, slapping him. "That was a horrible thing to do, running off without telling anyone. Nobody would have known if you died!" she said angrily. Michael rubbed his red cheek.

"Would you have let me gone if I asked?" he asked.

Bella considered this. "No. But I'm glad you and Sirius are safe. Charlie and James, and Mr. Lupin and Aunt Melinda too."

Michael noticed that it was beginning to grow late. He took the opportunity to look around him. All the equipment was broken, and there were piles of papers burning. The Resistance was lined up at the fireplace, taking turns Floo-ing to Diagon Alley. He grinned at Thomas as he and Charlie stepped through calling out "Hogsmeade." Sirius, James, and Remus did the same. Melinda gestured for Bella to go next, and she went through. Michael followed.

Tumbling out of the fireplace, covered in soot, Michael couldn't remember being happier. He had survived the summer, even with the most deadly assassins after him. And he had great stories to tell when he got back to Hogwarts. It was nighttime, but the group decided that it wouldn't matter if they had a butterbeer first -- the Sorting would have already started by now. They sat at a table in the corner.

Charlie talked about Annabelle most of the time, ecstatic that she was going to Hogwarts. She said she hoped Anna found someone nice to sit with on the train, preferably a Hufflepuff.

"Do you think Snape and Malfoy missed us on the train?" Sirius asked with a grin.

Thomas laughed. "I think everyone did!" Michael said. "We're rather noticeable, you know."

James finished his butterbeer while Michael took the last swig of his. "Reckon we should head back now?" he asked the group.

"How do you plan on getting us back?" Remus asked. "The carriages are gone by now, as are the boats. And I don't plan to walk that whole way in the dark -- I'd rather stay at an inn for the night."

"I'm anxious to get back to Hogwarts," Charlie said, "so don't worry. I'll find a way..." she added mysteriously, as she ran out of the Three Broomsticks. The group continued its small talk until Charlie returned, with seven top-of-the-line racing brooms. She handed one to each of them, keeping one for herself. "Well, what are you waiting for?" Charlie asked, with a grin. "Let's go!"

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Noelle loaded her trunk onto the train, and walked to find a compartment. She found Alexiandra Marsiella, her best Slytherin friend, along the way.

"Lexi!" Noelle said happily.

"Noelle!" Alexiandra said smiling, but her eyes remained rather cold. "I think you had better come with me."

Noelle frowned, but followed her nevertheless. Alexiandra led her through a Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor compartment before she stopped. She stepped out of the way to reveal Lucius Malfoy.

"Noelle. Where were you this summer?" he asked, his voice tight.

"Well," Noelle began, her mind reeling, "I had failed Transfiguration, so Minnie made me stay at Hogwarts to retake the bloody course."

"Then why aren't you at Hogwarts now?" Narcissa Watkins asked, her voice oozing of malice.

Noelle smiled sarcastically at her. "Well, I had to get some new robes, so I was allowed to come to Diagon Alley today."

Lucius frowned. "Mum threw a bloody fit when you didn't show up."

"I'm sure she did. But Professor McGonagall did send them a post telling them. Did they not get it?"

"No. Oh well. So, how was your summer?" Lucius asked, as he raised one of his eyebrows. He had been doing that since he discovered he could raise only one eyebrow last year.

Noelle breathed in internal sigh of relief. Thank the Gods she thought quick on her feet, and that Lucius was rather stupid. "Rather boring. Have you seen Sevvie?"

"He'll show up," Lucius said, smiling. It wasn't a real smile, of course. More of a smirk. He didn't know how to smile.

Noelle sat back in the seat, while Lucius told her about all the 'mudbloods' that were infesting the village by Malfoy Manor, and Alexiandra filled her in on Victor Halliwell, the dreamy Fifth Year she had a crush on. 

Severus entered the compartment, and gave Noelle a small smile, but didn't speak to her. The train ride was long and rather uneventful. Lucius had gone off at one point to find those 'bloody Gryffindors' but reported he could only find Lily and some girl he didn't recognize. Noelle shrugged it off, and popped another chocolate frog in her mouth.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Lily was worried when she couldn't find anyone on the train. She couldn't even find Potter! She knew that Kiana and Toria would not be there, since they lived in Hogsmeade, but Lily expected Bella.

Remembering that she wasn't on speaking terms with Bella, Lily sighed. It was going to be one long year.

The door opened, but Lily didn't turn to see who it was. She expected it to be Lucius Malfoy, and was surprised when a girl asked if she could sit in the compartment. Lily gave her consent, and turned to find Anna, Charlie's stepsister.

Anna was tall and beautiful. Her tan skin didn't have one blemish, and her pale blue eyes looked exotic. She had long dark brown hair, that cascaded in waves. She wore a simple outfit of black pants and a white blouse.

"Oh hullo. I remember you from the party. Anna, right?" Lily said, smiling.

"Yes. You're Lily, aren't you? Well, I planned to begin attending Hogwarts after the Easter holidays, but father thought it would be better to wait until September." Anna smiled, as she sat down in a seat by the window.

The girls talked, exchanging stories about their families, their friends, and their lives in general. Anna especially loved to talk about her horse, Cloud. They arrived at Hogwarts before they knew it. Lily walked with Anna to the horseless carriages, and they ended up sitting with two Ravenclaws. Upon her first sight of Hogwarts, Anna gasped. She told Lily that it was much larger than their summer estate. Lily grinned. Hogwarts was pretty amazing…

When they arrived in the corridor, Professor McGonagall was waiting for Anna. She pulled Anna out of the throng of students, and Lily gave her an encouraging smile before going into the Great Hall. Lily was surprised to see several empty seats at the Gryffindor table. She sat by Kiana and Toria, who looked like they had something up their sleeve. Jules Potter, Estella Black, Christopher Cauldwell, and Evan Edwards were looking at them as if wishing that looks could kill. She was about to ask them what they were up to when Professor Dumbledore rose, clearing his throat.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts," he said. "I trust you all had a safe holiday. I have several announcements to make, but those can wait until after the Sorting. Professor McGonagall, if you please…"

Professor McGonagall nodded, and stood up. She placed a three-legged stool on the small platform, and put the Sorting Hat on top of it. The brim opened, and the hat began to sing.

Lily did not listen to the song. She was trying to figure out what the Marauders could be doing that was more important than the Sorting. She was also wondering if Bella was with them. Her stomach churned as she thought of Bella not being with them.

As 'Aban, Judith' was called, Lily's thoughts were directed toward the Marauders once again. When they were all together, the results were often disastrous. Especially since she never called off her war with Potter…

Lily clapped when 'Benson, Stephen' was made the first Gryffindor. She noticed Anna standing in the back. She waved to her, and Anna waved back enthusiastically.

The Sorting didn't take that long, surprisingly. There were many students, but the Hat made its decisions in record time. Professor Dumbledore stood up, and announced that Hogwarts had an exchange student, giving Anna an encouraging smile. She grinned back.

"Stramopolis, Annabelle. Third Year." Anna strode to the stool, her head held high. She did wink at Lily, though, as she sat down. Anna was proclaimed a "GRYFFINDOR!" after three minutes of deliberation. She ran down to Lily, throwing her arms around her. "I'm a Gryffindor!" she shouted happily. They sat down as Professor Dumbledore stood up. 

"New beginnings," he said, raising his hands. At that instant, a faint wailing was heard. "New beginnings," he tried again, but the screaming got louder. The doors to the Great Hall flew open, and Lily stared in amazement as James Potter, Michael Barnette, Sirius Black, Thomas Brooks, Remus Lupin, Charlie Hunter, and Bella Figg flew in on brooms, crashing into the Head Table.

"Beginnings that shall not be forgotten," Professor Dumbledore said with a wry smile, as he stared inquisitively at the group.

Charlie stood up first. "No need to worry," she said, "we're all right!" She bounced to the Hufflepuff table where she sat by Christine. She searched the room looking for Anna, and was a little disappointed when she saw her at the Gryffindor Table. But a grin spread across her face when she realized that she could probably get into Gryffindor Tower a lot easier now.

The Marauders and Bella stood up as a group. "Er..." Sirius said, not knowing quite what to say when looking at the sea of faces. "Er... uh... its' beginning to storm out there..." The Marauders smiled apologetically at the students, as they made their way to the Gryffindor table, Bella close behind. They sat down, amid the stares. "What are you looking at?" they all snapped at the same time. The many faces immediately whirled away from them.

"Eat up," Professor Dumbledore said, as food appeared on the tables.

The Gryffindors literally stuffed their faces with food, especially the Marauders, who had not eaten all day. The food disappeared almost instantly, and desserts appeared in their place. That soon disappeared too, however. Professor Dumbledore stood once again, as he raised his hands for silence.

"I must ask you to pay attention for a short while. I have many announcements to make. First of all, Mr. Filch has made a list of forbidden objects at Hogwarts. If you would like to see it, it will be posted outside of the Great Hall, or in Mr. Filch's office. The forest is still forbidden, and it would do you good to remember," he said, looking in the Marauders' direction, and then sneaking a glance at Charlie at the Hufflepuff table. "The village of Hogsmeade is also forbidden to all those under third year, and everyone else except for those special days. Also take note that Quidditch try-outs will be in two weeks, on a certain day depending on your house. I would lastly like to announce the Head Boy and Girl. Of Ravenclaw, Robert Reynolds is the Head Boy." The Ravenclaw table erupted in applause. "And Gwyneth Baker, of Gryffindor, is Head Girl." The Gryffindor Table now burst into applause, everyone congratulating a blushing Gwyn. "That is all."

The students stood up, following the Prefects to their respective Common Rooms. The girls went up to their dormitory where they found an extra bed for Anna. At once, Lily collapsed on her old bed, as sleep washed over her. Anna, Toria, and Kiana did the same.

It was a new beginning at Hogwarts. 

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Voldemort sat in his chamber, distracted with heavy thoughts of the future. He had this feeling -- incredibly bad feeling -- that the reign of Fate would soon begin. And he was still no closer to revealing his or her identity. He had ordered his best men onto research duty, and he had assigned the rest to go to America to help out with the Michael Barnette situation. He had also hired L'Ordine di Morte to help, since he was so busy trying to deal with Fate.

Out of nowhere, a girl appeared. She was a girl of seven, with shimmering blonde hair and wide blue eyes. She wore a green cloak over her shoulders. Voldemort watched as she opened her mouth to sing. Her voice was airy and light, traveling over the notes. 

***

(A/N: Okay. Here's the tune. For those of you that watch Buffy and have seen the episode with 'the Gentleman'. You know when that little girl sings the song to warn Buffy in her dream in the very beginning of the episode? Well, that's the tune. For those of you that don't know, here is a basic layout: 

hmm hmm hmm

hmm hmm hmm

hmm hmm hmm hmm ~~(higher hmm)

hmm hmm hmm

All right? Basically, every word is the same note except for the last word in the third statement. Sorry for the interruption.)

__

***

Close your windows

Lock your doors

She's coming over mountain

And o'er moor

You can not run

You can not hide

Fate is truly

Bonafide

The time has come

Fate is here

The end is drawing

Oh so near

The dark at its height

The light at low

Friend against friend

And foe against foe

Fate has come

To save the light

To amend the past

Make it right

She shall come

Battle the Dark

And each time

She'll leave her Mark

Close your windows

Lock your doors

She's coming over mountain

And o'er moor

The time has come

Fate is here

The end is drawing

Oh so near

The girl's lips pressed together, as she gazed at Voldemort. Voldemort rubbed his eyes as the girl grew older. She now appeared to be around 16 or 17. Her blonde hair fell to curls beneath her shoulder, and her cheeks were rosy. Her lips were a dark rose pink, and her eyes a hazel colour. She opened her mouth to speak. 

__

The end is drawing

Oh so near

Then, the girl disappeared. No smoke, no sparkles. She just disappeared, leaving Voldemort in the chamber, fearing for his life.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

A/N: I do like the Voldemort section. I wrote the song myself! I'm sure you're all very proud of me. I want to thank Kim for having the patience to bear with me as I tried to write this. I also want to thank everyone who reviewed. Don't worry, this series is going to get better in the next chapter. It's going to be full of pranks.

I rewrote this actually three times, and I figure this is the best I am going to get. I've just been having a lot of trouble with bringing Michael/James/Sirius/Charlie/Melinda/Lupin all together, and I think I have it the way I want it.

****

~Noelle

Luckie7n13@aol.com


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